Change of Heart
by Vynx The Werewolf
Summary: Megan is alone, no family, no friends. But she's a writer so she's ok with that. But will she change her way of thinking when she meets Altair, Ezio, Leonardo, Malik, Alex, Desmond, and Shaun?
1. Numb

Ok, this goes with Christmas Eve. It tells how they got to that point and it will contain language. It is rated M because I do plan on going past the point for Christmas Eve, and so eventually will contain adult themes. If you don't like it, don't read it. Stick with Christmas Eve. And this story was over 4000 words. I think that's the longest chapter I have ever written. But fan fiction requires I do a disclaimer so...

Disclaimer: If you think I owned any of the characters besides Megan, do you think I would be on this site writing fanfictions about them? Nope, me either. I picture myself laying in a pool of money if I did. So no, I do not own Altair Ibn-La'had, Malik A'Sayf, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Leonardo Da Vinci, Desmond Miles, Shaun Hastings, and Alex J. Mercer. The first 6 belong to Ubisoft Montreal and Alex belongs to Activision.

Now, I do enjoy hearing from anyone who reads this so please review.

* * *

"'Quietly she comes upon….'"

A young woman types away on a keyboard, black and green glasses perched upon a small pert nose, blue-green eyes fixed on the glowing screen of her laptop as her eyebrows are pulled together over her eyes. Her Cupid's bow mouth was drawn in a tight pale line, her slender face was framed by chestnut ringlets that had fallen from the lazy bun she had made with a pencil. She pauses in her typing to lace her fingers together and stretch, the green long sleeve flannel pajama shirt lifting off her stomach as she does showing a pale belly button, and she yawns widely and covers it with her hands. She pops her back, leaning into the computer chair she was in, and stands; closing the screen as she does. Her black and gray plaid flannel pajama bottoms clung to her hips, held in place by the tied string.

She quietly walks out of the room, closing the door behind her, and heading to her kitchen. She stops in the living room long enough to feed the dyeing fire in the large fireplace and to get some feeling back into her feet and hands which had gone numb from the cold. She removes her glasses, placing them on her head, and rubs her eyes to continue on to her kitchen. She turns on the tap, filling a coffee mug with water before popping it into the microwave for a few minutes. She then pulls out coco mix and marshmallows, leaning against the counter to wait on the water. She looks at the clock on her wall finds it to tell her it was getting close to midnight. She sighs, calling it a day on her manuscript and pulling off her glasses to set them on the counter.

The microwave beeps, alerting her to the water being done. Carefully she pulls out the mug, pouring in the mix and then the marshmallows, and then goes into the living room once more. She sets the mug down on an end table and pulls the warm fleece blanket off the back of the couch curling up under it. She watches the fire, sipping at her hot coco and eating the melted marshmallows. She relaxes, allowing her mind to roam on things she had been avoiding all day. It had yet to snow in this area of the states and she was happy. She had enough food to last the winter, stocking up in early fall, but it was nice to be able to go to town and eat out every once in a while. She takes a deep breath, curling her arm under her head on the arm of the couch, and curls up in a tighter ball under the blanket to keep the cold at bay. While it hadn't snowed, it was still in freezing temperatures if the weatherman was right. And she had a sinking suspicion he was. The glen behind her house was frosted over, what leaves that were left on the trees having a sparkling quality she associated with crystals.

She shivers as the fire crackles and collapses. Her large 8 bed/ 4 ½ bathroom house was silent, echoing with the pops and crackles spoken by the fire. She groans lightly before getting up and throwing a few more logs on the fire then returns to her place on the couch. She grabs the pillow that was at the other end of the couch and makes herself comfortable, falling asleep in moments.

The woman awakens her eyes hazy with sleep. She focuses on the long dead fire and shivers. She knew she needed to start it once more but she was just… exhausted. She had been running on empty for a while, her emotions spent. Even her work was beginning to suffer and she just wanted a break, a real one. Four months of not writing wasn't enough and she had been dealing with lawyers, selling lands, taking care of unfinished business that her family hadn't done yet. She had inherited all of the money from life insurances but had spent it all on the funerals. She was the sole survivor in her family, single living member. Her family name would die if and when she got married and she didn't know if she could handle that. They were a loving family, always together for major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. But she refused to acknowledge them anymore.

Creaking from the cold she gets up and restarts the fire before taking her cold mug back into the kitchen and sets it in the sink, pouring hot water into it to break up the stuck on marshmallow. Yawning she gets into the fridge and pulls out eggs and bacon, milk and creamer. She sets them down by the oven and then pulls out salt and pepper. She glances outside for a second then begins to head for the skillet when she stops, turning back to the window by the oven. There was several people outside in the glen behind her house. Terrified she takes off to her wall of windows and throws open the sliding door. Ignoring that she was bare foot and the ground was not only frozen but covered in cold dew, she reaches the first person who happened to be a ginger haired man lying face first on the ground. He wore a gray sweater with a white shirt underneath, black slacks and shoes. There was a pair of glasses lying not to far from him so she assumed they belonged to him. There was- dirt and grass stains on his clothes she noticed when she turned him over.

"Hello? Are you ok?" She questions somewhat loudly. Just turning him over had been a problem and she knew it would be impossible for her to drag him or the others inside her house. The man groans, his face screwing up in discomfort, before he cracks one eye open. She releases her held breath but then squeaks as a hand wraps around her throat from behind, it wasn't a tight grip but it held her in place and wouldn't allow her to look behind. She heard some mumbling in a foreign language before one of the other men, a dark haired man wearing blue jeans and a white hoodie, clambers onto his hands and knees to glare at whoever was behind her.

"Altair let her go!" He commands, eyes wanting to scrunch up and getting on his feet. One of his hands goes to his head to hold it, and he slowly makes it over to her and the other man she was beside. It takes a few moments before the hand releases her but when it does she jumps up and away, hands flying to her throat and her eyes widen. She backs up slowly before running into a tree…

'Wait, that's not a… tree...' She thinks and looks up to find a man wearing a gray colored hoodie under a black leather biker's jacket, the white button up underneath had the collar popped up around his face. All she could really see at that moment was his icy blue eyes glaring down at her. Her heart drops when he grabs hold of right arm, just below her wrist, and squeezes. She felt her bones creak before they actually broke. She sucks in a breath before screaming, dropping to the ground in pain. He still had a hold of her arm but was no longer squeezing. The other men, 4 out of 6, around her suddenly pull out weapons; swords, knives, and other blades. They all glare at the man, switching between her and him. She with holds her sobs, taking deep shuddering breaths, gripping her right elbow.

"Who are you?" The man who just broke her arm questions, his voice deep and gravely to her, as he glares down at her. His eyes bore into her when she doesn't answer and his grip tightens a little more causing her to cry out in pain. "Do you work for Gentek?"

"G-gentek, wha-what the hell is that?" She questions him, tears leaking from her eyes. He frowns at her for a moment before releasing her arm. She pulls the appendage against her chest, cradling the broken bones gently. His attention switches to the 6 other men and then his arms kind of become fuzzy, something red and black shifting and sliding over the appendages before they become claws; wicked sharp and deadly.

"Do any of you work for Gentek?" He then questions them, a dark glint coming to his eyes. Somehow, through the haze of pain, her brain began to script out the scene and she could only hope she lived long enough to put it to paper. She was only 22 dammit; she had a full life ahead of her.

It was the six men on one side, all eyeing the other man warily, with the other man eyeing them and her stuck in the middle. Finally one of the six men dares to speak.

"What is this Gentek you speak of?" Questions the man, she guessed his name had to be Altair, who had grabbed her by the throat, his voice conveying his confusion to the other man with the dangerous claws and the rest nod to show they didn't know either. Her heart skips a beat as she looks at the man wearing the black jacket when his arms shift again becoming normal arms once more. She shivers, jarring the broken bones which cause her to hiss in pain and curl into a ball. The noise she makes snaps them out of whatever trance they seemed to be in and the only blonde in the group rushes to her and helps her stand, cradling her arm carefully whilst helping her inside her own home. He helps her to the couch, looking around when he spots one of her drying towels in the kitchen. He runs and grabs it, tying it tightly around her arm.

"She needs to go to a doctor." Another of the men says after she hisses once more when the blonde ties one of the knots just a little too tight.

"Doctor's office is an… hour away." She says wincing when she once more cradles her arm to her chest. She was fighting the tears that once more wanted to escape her eyes but she stands, hissing in pain every time the bones in her arms moved, and walks to the foyer and grabs her keys along with the jacket. She struggles to put it on but gives up, dropping it on the ground and just opening the door and exiting her home. She hears three sets of feet coming out behind her when a larger hand removes the dangling keys from her left hand. Looking up she finds the ginger haired man beside her with a frown on his face.

"Trying to get yourself killed, are we?" He questions with a British accent, nodding to another man who steers her to the other side of her car. She pulls open the passenger door after the ginger unlocks the vehicle and slides in. "Bloody American cars…" She hears him mumble when he puts the key in and turns it on. She looks into the back seat and finds that the man wearing the gray hoodie was behind the driver while a man with brown hair and golden-brown eyes was behind her. She realizes, with a start, that he was wearing clothing reminiscent of the Renaissance period of Italy. She only remembered because she had done research for a book she had planned on basing in that period but eventually didn't.

"Fucking watch where you're going!" She says when the ginger nearly hits the only tree in her front yard. 400 feet from her house to the tree line with one rather large spruce tree in between and he manages to almost make it topple over on her Ford Taurus. He grumbles for a split second before putting it in drive and taking off down her drive way. Vaguely she hopes her car would be alright without having warmed in the cold weather.

"Madonna?"

"Sorry." She apologizes, still looking at him.

"Do not worry. I am Ezio Auditore da Firenze." He says with a little bow of his head, a Casanova smile playing with his scarred lips. He had an Italian accent that she was sure made girls weak in the knees but she was in just too much pain.

"Megan Ryan." She nods back to him with a pain laced smile on her own lips. She turns back around in her seat, pulling on her seat belt after the ginger hits a rather nasty hole in the road. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"Oh well of course, I know everything after all." He snarkaly remarks, shooting her a quick glare. "Of course not you bloody girl."

"Take the next left up the road otherwise it'll be four hours to the next town." He slows only momentarily to make the turn before gunning it once more. "Please try not to, oof!, to blow my engine up. That wouldn't be a good thing Gingie."

He slows down some. "It's Shaun you twit."

"Well, Shaun, it's a pleasure Limey." He gives a slight twitch, eyes narrowing some. She hisses in pain when he hits another pothole. "I'm actually glad you're driving cause I think I would have wrecked by now. I just hope my house is going to still be standing when we get back."

"You're more worried about your house and not how you're going to explain your arm?" Gray Hoodie questions, raising a single brown eyebrow at her and her lack of caring. She blinks a moment before grinning.

"I'm a writer. I can come up with stuff on a dime. Moreover, I'm curious as to how all of you made it to my place. With what I just saw and, well, felt; none of you are from around here are you?"

"Senora Megan, where is here?" Ezio questions her.

"Uh, you're in Washington State, near Oregon and Idaho." She answers him, wincing with each pothole Shaun hit. "Dammit man, are you hitting them on purpose?!" She asks with Shaun giving her a little grin in response.

"I can start if you want." He responds.

"Wait, that's not possible. I was in New York…"

"And I in Italia." The men in the back respond to her answer surprised. She turns back to them and blinks several times.

"New York and Italy? No way, that's not possible. New York would take a couple days by car alone. And Italy you would have to fly to get here. What's going on?" She questions to herself at the end. She looks over at gray hoodie. "What's your name?"

"Alex."

'Okay, so I have Shaun, Altair, Ezio, Alex. Now I need to find out the other three.' She thinks, becoming quiet. She needed to think about all of this. If what they were telling her was true, and sadly she knew they were seeing as she had the broken arm to prove it, then they needed someone they could trust and somewhere they could stay.

7 hours later the four finally walked in the front door of her home. The rest of the car ride had turned rather quiet after the admittance of where they had been prior to waking up outside of her home. Alex had managed to break both bones in her arm but thankfully they had been broken really cleanly and would heal really quick. She was still thinking of the situation for the 7 men, of where they could stay and what she was obligated to do. But she knew what she was going to do.

The ride home had been more enlightening than the ride to town. They had ended up going and buying clothes for them because she didn't know if they had any other clothing or not. She went with the general size and style, even buying a couple hoodies and jackets. She knew the weather and while it was unseasonable for there not to be snow, it still felt like the weather for snow. The clouds were dark and heavy, darkening an already dark sky.

"Desmond where are you, you git?" Shaun calls out, dropping the bags he was holding and then the keys. Megan had made sure to stop at the grocery store because the way Shaun talked, she would run out of food quick. So all of them were carrying bags, be it food or clothing, with Alex carrying the most. Megan leads the way to the kitchen, dropping the food bags on the counter. Ezio, Shaun, and Alex follow her example. Her right arm was heavy with the cast, which was neon green just because everyone frowned about it and she really didn't mind the color, and now she was wondering if she would even be able to type her stories for a while.

'Well, vacation time here I come.' She thought, thinking of her agent and publicist. They were not going to be happy but they would survive. She separates the clothes and food, taking hold of Ezio, who was now in modern clothing consisting of a red button up shirt with the top 3 buttons undone, brown leather jacket left unzipped, black slacks, and black loafers. She could already feel her bank account crying just looking at him. "You can take that jacket off ya know."

"Si, but I am comfortable right now with it on." He responds, that smile back on his face. She blinks a few times.

'Thank god they gave me pain killers or else I would have killed all those stupid girls.' She thinks pulling out food and telling him were to put it. When they finish she notices that the things she had pulled out to make food this morning were put away. When she finally looks back at Shaun she realizes that the three that were left behind were staring at her. "Oh, um, Hi."

Blondie and one of the dark haired guys, who was wearing normal clothing like Shaun which clues her into him being this Desmond guy, smile at her. The other two frown. In fact, Shaun and Alex were doing the same. She clears her throat. "Um, ok. Well first off, my name is Megan." She pauses, thinking over what next she needed to say. "So I kinda get what's going on with all of you. You guys are in Washington state, far away from wherever you had been prior, and I think you may have also…"

She stops, running her left hand through her hair. To her it even sounded crazy, like some sort of plot from a book. "I think you may have also changed worlds. From what I've gathered, which isn't much, all of you are from different frames of time and planes of existence." She relaxes against the counter looking down at it in thought. "What you may have known could be different here. If, well I guess it really isn't an if, if the worlds are as different as what scientist say then who knows." She looks back up at them. "I will say that all of you are welcome here to stay as long as you want. I've got plenty of rooms for each of you and there are plenty of things to do around here. I have internet, food, and; possibly the best thing of all, the security of knowing. I won't ask anything of any of you save names and if you would help around the house. If ever you feel like telling me anything, I'm willing to listen.

"People generally don't come here and if they do, they call ahead. It's a long drive to any town around here which is how I like to live. I think the only person who would be coming would be my agent and that will be because of me having to call him tomorrow to tell him that my manuscript won't be done by deadline. I have 6 to 8 weeks of recuperation from having my arm broken." She finishes, taking a rather deep breath afterwards. This was why she was under a writing alias, talking in public or to people she didn't know just causes her unneeded stress. "Now, my doctor gave me a rather powerful painkiller and I just want to turn into a toasted marshmallow on my couch for a few hours." She goes around the counter, heading to her comfy couch. Someone had started a fire and it was burning strong. She grabs her blanket from the back of the couch and bundles up under it, relaxing into her corner. A few seconds later all of the men come into the living room. Blondie sits with her on the couch, as does Ezio, and clears his throat.

"How can you say you will not ask questions of us? Isn't it human nature to be curious?"

"Yes. But if I try to force anything from any of you, what will that prove? I admit I have millions of questions floating around my head, beating against my skull in an attempt to break through and bombard all of you. As I've said, the only thing I really want to know right now is names. The rest will come when all of you feel ready to tell." She answers him with a small smile.

"Megan, you have not eaten. Would you like something?" Ezio questions leaning back into the couch. He was relaxing she guessed.

"Hmm… Hot chocolate sounds good." She answers him. The others begin to roam the living room, Altair having removed his hood and she could see the dark brown hair cropped about an inch from his head. He, Desmond, and Ezio all looked alike and if it really came down to it, she would call them triplets to anyone who asked. The only problem would be if they could talk without their accents.

Megan stands up, adjusting the blanket to be around her shoulders while her right arm hung at her side. The cast made her arm feel 20 pounds heavier and she was glad for the sling she had been given and also for the fact that she was naturally ambidextrous. Ezio stands with her as does Blondie.

"Don't worry 'bout it." She tells them with a shake of her head. Another of the men whose name she didn't know turns to her, a book held in his one hand. 'Oh my, he's an amputee?' She thinks quickly and then curses her brain as more questions burst out in her thoughts.

"Do you mind if I read this?" He questions, looking at the soft cover book in his hand. She pauses long enough to read the title, Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. Her favorite book.

"Sure, just be careful, um…" She stops, not knowing his name.

"Malik."

"Malik. It's my favorite and probably my most prized out of all of my books." She fought the memories wanting to surface, giving him a small nod.

"You must be rich to afford so many." He remarks to her, looking up at her face. She shakes her head no.

"Not really. Then again I don't spend too much money on frivolous things so I do have a pretty good savings. But read whatever you like." She answers him with a shrug of her shoulder. He nods at her and makes his way to one of the chairs scattered about the living room. She continues on to the kitchen, Blondie now right behind her. She pulls out two mugs then gets the coco mix and marshmallows. She carefully fills them with water and then pops them into the microwave. The beeping noise from her pushing the buttons draws him in, staring at the contraption in wonder.

"How does it work?" He questions her and she shrugs.

"I don't really know. It's just technology."

"Can I take it apart?" She blinks several times with wide eyes.

"I'll see if I can find a broken one somewhere…"She answers and the microwave dings to signal it was finished. Quickly she pulls out one mug then the other and scoops coco into them, mixing and adding the mallows. She pushes one towards Blondie who gets a gleeful, childlike smile on his face when he notices. "Be careful, its hot enough to burn your tongue."

"Of course. Thank you Megan." He responds blowing on the liquid to cool it down.

"Hey, that smells good. Care to make me some?" Desmond questions, walking up and leaning against the counter. He had a rather charming smile on his face that she could see would make plenty of girls weak in the knees.

"No, but the mugs are in that cabinet," she sets down her mug and points, "and everything else is here on the counter. Water is in the tap. Have fun." She picks her mug back up and re-enters the living room and gets in her spot. She could hear Desmond grumbling something in the kitchen. Ezio waves Blondie back into the living room.

"Leonardo, what is that?" Ezio questions as Leonardo gets closer.

"I'm not sure but it is benissimo." He answers as he sits between Megan and Ezio. Leo hands over the mug and Ezio looks at it funny, probably cause the marshmallows had begun to melt, sniffs and takes a swig before either had a chance to warn him. His eyes widen and he begins to cough. Leonardo takes the drink back with a laugh. "You should be more careful mio amico."

Megan shakes her head. If this was just the first day, what would every other day be like?


	2. Castle of Glass

Chirping, she could hear birds chirping. The sun was warm as it shone down on her as she played, splashing salty water at her 2 older brothers and sister. The Florida coast was hot in the summer but they couldn't have been happier to be at the ocean. The day was hot, the water cold, and she was enjoying herself. She was 15 again with not a care in the world. Her siblings run over to her parents and wait with smiling faces as she goes to join them but as she gets closer the world darkens and twists, turning to shades of gray and black. The smiling faces of her family turn to silent screams of terror, the happy atmosphere morphing into a nightmare.

Megan's eyes snap open and she sits up quickly, her breath coming in quick gasping breathes. She looks around wildly, unsure of her surroundings when heavy knocking on her door makes her jump and wrap her blanket around herself.

"Megan, you alright in there?" A gruff male voice asks. She grabs the green robe that hung by her bed and stands, putting it on, to walk over to the door. She unlocks it and pecks out into the gloomy hallway. Desmond's brown eyes stare back at her and she relaxes some, opening the door a bit more to let him in. She flicks the light on and sits on her bed, right arm in her lap. Desmond stands in the middle of her room for a minute, looking around at all the things inside it before making his way over beside hers. "You ok?"

She takes a breath. "Yeah, just a nightmare is all." She answers, fiddling with the comforter on her bed. She didn't want to think of what she dreamt of, didn't want to remember anything.

"You sure?" He questions hesitantly. She appreciated the effort and knew he had probably been put up to it by the others. "You were screaming." What smile she may have had dropped. She hadn't known that.

"It was just a nightmare, don't worry." She says again forcing the smile back on her face. "Imma stay up for a little while, maybe get something to eat." She adds when she looks at the clock on her bedside table. 3 am. She was up far too early for her liking. Desmond gives a curt nod, standing up. He goes to her door and pauses.

"If you need to talk, any of us are willing to listen." She nods to him and he leaves her room. She waits a moment before following him out, grabbing her sling for her arm and putting it on. For her to try to go back to sleep was going to require something stronger than hot chocolate or warm milk, she was going to need bourbon.

She walks out of her room, hearing hushed talking coming from Ezio's room. She should have known that they would congregate there seeing as his room was across from hers. She goes down the stairs into the foyer then into the kitchen. She didn't always do this, getting herself drunk enough to sleep, only when the nightmares were bad like tonight. If she hadn't of had to deal with everything for her family, she would have remained drunk the for the 4 months off she had. She reaches for the cabinet that held the half empty bottle of amber liquid. She pulls it down then gets a glass. She knew how much was supposed to be poured but she fills the glass halfway and downs it, coughing as it burns her throat and stomach. She pours the same amount again, lifting the glass to her lips when a hand stops her. She follows the appendage to the owner, finding Malik and Altair standing beside her. Malik had a hold of her wrist with a worried look on his face.

"What are you doing?" Altair questions. He was frowning at her, displeased with something.

"Drinking." She answers.

"Why?" Malik asks, taking the glass from her hand. She reaches for it but he hands it to Altair, out of her reach. She pouts and grabs the bottle but it is taken from her as well.

"Look, I just need to be able to sleep. Nothing more."

"Why would you need alcohol to sleep?" Altair asks then, a confused look on his face. Malik smells the bottle, his face scrunching up at the smell.

She pauses, unsure if she should really be telling them anything. But Des had said.. _'I gave him a nickname already?'_ He had said they would be willing to listen so maybe just a fraction of what she dreamt of wouldn't be so bad to tell. "I have nightmares. Bourbon helps me sleep. I drink it every once in a while, last time being a year ago."

"What are your nightmares of?" She looks at Malik surprised. She remembers Des saying she had been screaming so maybe she may have been saying something within her screams.

"What did I say?" She whispers, looking away from them to the window over her sink. It was still dark but the lights from inside were lighting up the porch and some of the glen so she could see some of the tree line. She wasn't completely sure if she wanted to know what she had been saying.

"You were yelling out for Kevin, Charlene, Wade, Omy, and Aby. Who were the other people?" Malik answers here, setting the bottle on the bar counter. She furrows her brows.

"What's Omy and Aby?"

"Mother and Father."

"Oh." She says. Her body was beginning to feel warm so she knew the alcohol was now starting to infiltrate her system. Her head was a little foggy now. "They were my family." She says after a few minutes, still looking out the window. She didn't want to know their reactions, didn't want any more questions on it.

"Were? Did something happen?" Altair questions, setting the glass beside the bottle. She moves over to it, running her finger over the top of the glass before picking it up and taking a gulp. It burned her throat once more, liquid fire beginning to course through her veins. She takes another drink, the burn no longer a concern for her. The glass was now pretty much empty but she didn't plan on getting any more. She put the cap back on the bottle and drinks the rest of the liquid, putting away everything. All the while, both men watched her for any sign of distress. She must have made them very worried.

"I'm gunna go back to bed now." She says after a few moments, letting the fire take control of her body. Her steps were a little wobbly but she was able to make it to the stairs, up them, and to her room while passing the congregation of the rest of them. Shutting and locking the door was easier than she thought. No one bothered her, no one seemed to know what to do. In pretty much a house full of men, none of them seemed to have any control of the situation. She got back into bed, removing the robe and putting it back where it belonged. The fuzzy feeling in her head was stronger now and she smiles a little sluggishly to herself. _'Maybe they aren't so bad to have around. I probably would have drank the rest of that bottle if they hadn't of followed me._' Were her last thoughts before going into a drunken sleep plagued by no dreams that she could remember.

* * *

Her alarm clock was going off, ringing loudly in her ear as if it was a wailing banshee. Frowning she smashes down on the top of it, effectively stopping the noise. She smiles to herself, snuggling down into her fluffy pillows and warm bed. She could smell fresh brewed coffee, bacon, eggs, and biscuits. She had such a weird dream last night, finding 7 strangers and inviting them into her home. But that was impossible, her family was here and waiting for… her… to get up…

She sits up, her right arm heavy and an impossibly bright green to her eyes. Her head was hurting slightly and then she looks at the date on her clock. It had been over a year since her family had died. She was alone. But then why..

She heard loud male laughter. She jumped up, her large gray shirt hanging off one of her shoulders, and her red plaid flannel pants making a shushing noise as she exits her room, goes down the stairs, and stops in the foyer to watch the 6 men at the bar and in the kitchen. It hadn't been a dream. They were real, they were in her house.

"Ah good morning Megan. Did you sleep well?" Leonardo questions, sitting at the bar. Ezio, Altair, and Malik were with him and all turn to her.

"Err, yeah I slept good." She says, scratching the back of her head with her right hand. The cast was scratchy against her arm but she ignores it, instead walking over to the counter. She was figuring they were going to put up a front and she was going to go along with it.

"Hope you don't mind, we got hungry." Des asks gesturing to the cooking food he was preparing. Shaun was preparing a cup of… something. All she knew is he was pouring creamer into it.

"No I don't." She answers adjusting her shirt then taking a seat beside Leonardo. She watched as Des, when she came up with that she hadn't realized, shrugs with a grin and goes back to cooking. She watches as they return back to whatever conversation they had been having prior to her arrival. Something about first learning how to do leaps of faith and how Altair fell off of a wall when he was little. Said man scowls at Malik as he tells the story, turning away with a grunt.

This felt almost… normal. She would dare say comfortable, that is, till the sliding door to her backyard opens and in walks Alex. She stiffens somewhat, arm twinging in almost ghost like pain. She figured Desmond noticed seeing as he was dishing out the food and was at her plate Shaun had kindly gotten. Alex stops where he was, watching them. She looks down at her plate and begins to laugh.

"Wh-what?" Des questions, looking at her a little worried.

"This is way too much, I won't be able to eat all this." She says, shaking her head. All of them look at her crazy.

"How is that," Shaun points to her plate with at least twice the recommended serving of eggs and bacon and three biscuits, "to much?"

She sighs. "When I eat, and that's maybe once or twice a day, it's very little. I think people call it 'eating like a bird.'" She answers. She waves Des over and takes his plate from him, scooping nearly all of her eggs and then giving him all but 2 pieces of bacon. She tries to give him two of her biscuits but Ezio swipes them and some of the bacon from Des' plate. She then notices that neither Altair nor Malik had bacon on their plates. She could understand why, what with the way they were raised and all in the dark ages; they didn't have a way to correctly cook pork enough for any pestilence to be killed with a high enough heat. So not trusting it was fine with her.

"You have plenty, share with others." Ezio says, giving some of the bacon and one of the biscuits to Leonardo and Shaun waves his offer off. She shakes her head and turns back around to face Alex who was still just standing behind them

"Would you like some?" She questions, gesturing to the plethora of food. He just raises one shoulder a minute degree and then drops it.

"Don't eat." Was his answer and heads up the stairs to the bedrooms. She blinks a few times before huffing and pouting.

"Well fine then." She says after he disappears up the stairs. He almost sounded like he was stomping as he was going up. She didn't think he was that heavy, he looked like he was kind of normal sized if he ever took off those layers. She still didn't understand why he had refused to try on any clothes when they went shopping yesterday. She sticks her tongue out at the stairs then turns back to the rather nicer men who all then laughed at her rather childish display. She just gives a grin and digs into her plate of food.

* * *

Later that day Megan was pulling out old, rejected manuscripts to see which one she could maybe re-use and tweak in an attempt to appease her rather irate agent. An hour ago she had a rather heated argument on the phone with the 6 nicer men sitting and watching her pace around the living room, trying to keep her temper in control when Des had decided to make an ass of himself and pretend to put Shaun and Ezio in a headlock with both fighting to get out, Ezio saying something nasty in Italian she was glad she couldn't understand but none the less had started laughing. Unfortunately her agent had no clue as to what was going on and assumed she had been laughing at him. He had threatened to drop her as a client and so she was now doing this with one hand and about 8 industrial sized copy paper boxes full of half-done stories trying to find a certain one she had thought he would like.

Good news: He wasn't going to be coming over. Hurray!

Bad news: She was still going to have to do some sort of work. Boo!

"Shit, you wrote all of these?" Desmond questions, finally out of the hog tie the Italian and Brit had put him in. And they had used a lot of rope too; she was kinda surprised he hadn't killed himself getting out. But she didn't feel all too bad about it, he kinda deserved it. He bends and picks up one of her manuscripts and she snatches it from him, landing on the pile of them and box parts. She glares up at him from the floor, the papers clutched in her one good hand.

"Bug off. It's your fault that I have to go through them right now." She says, and he gives a placating motion with his hands then helps her stand.

"Sorry, I didn't know that was going to happen. You just looked so… helpless." He says with a shrug and walks away. She blinks a few times.

'_Did I look helpless?'_ She thought and then looks down at the manuscript she had taken from him. It was the one she was looking for. Excited she starts jumping up and down only to slip on a loose paper and fall back down as Ezio and Malik come into view. "Oooh my butt…"

* * *

"Megan, it's time to eat." She looks up from her computer, glasses perched on her nose and blinks into the gloom beyond the bright screen. She recognized the voice of Shaun but couldn't see him. She had found one of her old ergonomic mouse pads and was using the cushiony gel to support her cast. Needless to say, it worked well enough for her to get about 4 chapters done in the amount of hours she had been working.

"Yeah, 'm coming." She stands and stretches, back and shoulders feeling stiff. She leaves open the screen and walks out, yawning. The world outside was dark once more. "How long was I in there?"

"4 or 5 hours."

"Dang." She gives a rather large yawn and follows him to the bar, taking her designated seat beside Leonardo.

"I was worried something had happened. We called several times but you did not answer." Ezio remarks in greeting.

"Yeah, I do that. It's how I can skip days' worth of meals without meaning too." She answers, taking the plate Shaun offered. There was a small amount of food on it, a little more than what she would have gotten but not much when compared to the rest of the men's. "Any one seen Alex after this morning?" She receives a collect negative response. She shrugs, if he wanted to be anti-social so be it.

"What is this called?" Altair questions, poking at the mac n cheese. Megan, Shaun, and Desmond roll their eyes.

"It's noodles and cheese. It's good." Des answers, harfing down half of his food in several bites.

"Piggy." Megan says with a grin and chuckle to which he responds by tearing into the rather large piece of sausage on his fork with a grunting noise. Ezio, for some reason, took this as a challenge and began to harf down his own meal. She could practically see the lightning shooting between the two. Everyone ignores them and continues to eat normally. Megan shrugs and does the same. When she finishes she sits back with her glass of water in hand.

Now, what to do? Did she want to go back to work or did she want to just sit around. She was further along with the manuscript than what she thought she would be and figured she could do with a little goofing off. She grins once more, looking out from the wall of windows. She sees something floating around outside and she gets up, ignoring the questions she was receiving and presses her face against one of the windows. Her eyes widen with happiness and she waves them over.

"What is that?" Malik questions seeing the fluffy white stuff floating down, Megan looks at him and then Altair surprised.

"None of you have seen snow before, have you? She questions them all, somewhat surprised by the admittance she received from all but Shaun.

"I lived in London. Snow happened every year." He responds to her with a shrug.

"I am sooooo making a snowman tomorrow." She says with a grin, already picturing what it would look like. Vaguely she wondered how much it would take to make the older men feel uncomfortable. Vulgarity in snowman making was her specialty after all.

"Bet I can make a better one than you." Des says grinning at her, a challenge lighting his eyes. He had to be bored if he was challenging her.

"Bet I can make one more vulgar than you." She counters, returning to looking out the window.

"Cannot."

"Can too."

"Children, children. Enough." She pouts as Shaun gives them a chiding voice. She looks over at the other four.

"We can play out in it tomorrow; the place will be blanketed with the stuff. I don't think I've left my house once it snows in the past 4 years. The roads get bad in my opinion. But thank god I have a vehicle with all weather and terrain tires." She says, walking over to her couch and facing the fire. She snuggles under her blanket; the winter was rough for her. The cold just seemed to slip past whatever barrier she may have been using to ward it off but it never seemed to work. She shivers.

"How can you be cold? The fire keeps the house warm." Altair questions as they all file into the living room, taking seats all over the place. It seemed they were accepting her in some sort of way. Probably cause she was a girl and well, kinda invalid right now. Maybe they were trying to keep her safe, safe from anything, safe from Alex. She didn't not trust him but she wasn't sure what to think of him either. He had broken her arm in the first 5 minutes he had met her and questions she hadn't answered. But she was willing to give him benefit of the doubt. He was in a new world, dimension, universe. He was paranoid, but then again, they all were. They may have thought she didn't notice but they were on edge. When they were in the living room like now, they would look around and pay special attention to outside; as if they were waiting on someone to suddenly come upon the house and do something that wasn't favorable.

She shrugs off the thoughts. She was alone up here, except with them now. So she wasn't all that alone anymore. "The cold just seeps into me and refuses to leave. It's annoying. But I've always been like this, never really could keep warm but for the summer time." She gives a shrug through the blanket; she had found ways of keeping some warmth in her body over the years. Before it was plastering herself between her brothers or snuggling under a blanket with her sister or mom. But now it was different, now she had to constantly keep a fire going, wear flannel at all times, drink warm or hot drinks…. Speaking of. "Dessy."

'Dessy' looks at her with a frown. He was not happy with his nickname, that he wasn't… Great, her conscious was channeling Kenshin.

"Make me some hot chocolate please?" She gives a pouty look, complete with big eyes and a little whimper. She could see him fighting against the look, trying with all his might to not give in. She looks down in a sad manner and hears him release the held breathe in a rush.

"…Fine." She looks up with a big bright smile directed at him.

"Thank you Desmond!" She says a little loudly and Altair and Malik, who were sitting with her on the couch this time, begin to chuckle.

"Weak." She hears Altair mumble and turns the look on him and sees the same look Desmond had been giving her before she did the sad look down. She repeats the look, throwing in a defeated sigh. She could all but hear his resolve crumble.

"You are a dangerous woman." Malik says with a chuckle.

"Please, I can get anything with that look. I perfected the puppy dog eyes." She says with a laugh hearing the microwave go off and shortly after Desmond returns to the living room, handing over the cup to her. She takes it with a grateful look and he nods returning to his seat at the other couch. He had seemed to claim it as his as he stretched out on it. Altair throws his head back against the back of the couch, a groan escaping him in frustration.

'_Maybe he's thinks something along the lines of "these modern women will be the death of me if they can all do that."'_ She thinks, drinking her drink. She looks at her study and groans lightly. She had that itching feeling, the one that wasn't going to let her just sit there and not do her work. She then lets out a defeated sigh and stands, blanket around her shoulders and mug in hand. Everyone gives her a quizzical look. "Sorry, nagging feeling to get some work done. Always happens when I start on a project. Not to mention I really liked this plot to go with one of the series I'm working on." She answers, giving another sigh and going into her study. She turns around, giving a smile. "Hang around as long as you like, I'll probably be up for several hours and then crash down on the couch." She receives mixed statements, some nods and a few good nights. She shuts her door returns to her computer, hitting the power button to turn it back on. She sits, takes a drink of her coco, readjusts the blanket around her shoulders then adjusts the mouse pad for her arm, and begins once more, quickly hitting her pattern of writing, one she found easy to get into.

* * *

'_Oh, my neck is killing me…'_ She thinks, rubbing her neck with her left hand to work out the kinks in it. She had to stop doing this, she was ruining her body. She gives a little smile to herself and looks at the clock. _'Well, damn. It's after 3 in the morning.'_ She yawns and stretches, giving a tired groan as she does so and stands while shutting her computer. Her blanket had long since fallen to the floor forgotten, having gotten in the way of her typing, and her cup of coco empty and the mug cold. She sees the after image of the bright screen burned into her retina's and waits a heartbeat for it to fade away before continuing on into the living room. It had long since grown to cold for her liking and she planned on just breaking down and turning the heater on higher instead of feeding the fire. She really didn't want to deal with that, she was too exhausted.

When she exits her study she didn't notice anything out of place, the 6 men had went to bed long ago and she figured they had forgotten about the fire when they did. They were loud enough to alert her to leaving, and Leonardo opening the door to tell her good night one more time was her que as well to them splitting. As she makes her way to the thermostat over by the kitchen she pauses as she looks into the foyer by the stairs. Someone was standing there in the dark, looking at something.

"H-hello?" Damn, why was she being hesitant? It had to be one of the guys that was living with her now. Her brain kinda stutters over the 'living with her' part, the concept was still new and was a little harder to absorb. None the less, the faceless humanoid shape turns towards her as if surprised.

"Didn't think anyone would be up." Was the response she received from a gravelly voice. It was just Alex.

She releases a held breath, somewhat relieved. "Yeah, sorry. I was just working to late. But I'm done for now… What are you doing up so late?" She questions as an afterthought curiosity getting the better of her.

"Can't sleep." Was the response he gave her. He walks over to her but stops several feet away, enough that she realized he was purposely putting distance between them. Vaguely she wondered why he would do that.

She gives him a soft smile and a shrug. "It happens to everyone." She says and continues onto the thermostat. Damn thing was set on mid 60's. She shivers a little as she hits the button to turn up the heat.

"…Cold?"

She blinks, surprised. "Always cold during winter. Never been able to keep warm to well." She answers as the heaters kick on and the vent below her feet grows warm. Suddenly something heavy is draped over her shoulders, heavy but incredibly warm. She grips into one side of it, it turning out to be a leather jacket. She turns around to face Alex both surprised and grateful. "Thanks."

He gives another shrug, just a lift and drop of one shoulder. She was right though, he wasn't all that bulky it was just the amount of clothing he was wearing. They stand there a little awkwardly, neither sure of what to say.

"…sorry." He mumbles, and turns his head away.

"No, it's alright. I kinda always wondered what it felt like to wear a cast. Can't say its great fun though, itches like crazy." She had been ignoring the itching pretty well, but if it continued, she didn't know if she wouldn't just break down and grab one of her hangers to use as a scratcher. Her brother had done that once when he broke his leg, said it was the best feeling ever. She gives herself a mental head shake; she didn't need nightmares two nights in a row.

"It doesn't make it right though." He retorts to her, as she takes a seat at the bar. He seemed… somewhat talkative. And as such she would listen. "I just… didn't know."

She nods, understanding but also not. He was being vague but she could also tell that he wasn't. He was in a new place, didn't know the dangers, didn't know if she would have been able to hurt him or not. He had taken precaution and made sure he wasn't in danger. Then again, she wasn't sure if he would ever be in danger atleast not with those claw things and his strength. She could only guess how strong he really was after all, he had seemed to just flex and broke her arm with ease.

"You were keeping yourself safe." She says. He looks at her a moment.

"You remind me of my sister." Sister, he had a sister? "'cept, you're not as foul mouthed as her." He says with a light chuckle. Wonder what that meant?

"Thanks… I think." She gives a little laugh afterward.

"The last thing I can remember is that bomb exploding… Then waking up here. It just doesn't make sense." Bomb? Bomb exploding? Alex was around an exploding bomb?! What was he, immortal? Impervious? A god?

He gives a sigh, running a hand over his face. Questions were bubbling up to the surface of her mind, many of which she wanted mostly for her story. A character who could live through a bomb exploding would make for a great read. But she bites her tongue, willing him mentally to continue. She couldn't think of anything to say to get him to continue that wouldn't be breaking what she had told them.

"Somehow, I guess you could say that I'm kind of glad you found us." He says, not looking at her. The admission was surprising because she expected him to just ignore everything that had happened until time was up and they went back home, if they could. He looks at her once more before heading out the back door.

"Hey, you want your jacket?" She questions him loudly, moving to get up and take it off. He pauses long enough to turn back to her.

"Don't worry about it for now." Was all he says before heading out.

Well, that was… Surprising to say in the least.

* * *

Alrighty, my newest chapter is out. YAY! And for it I would like to thank MoonlitMeeting for reviewing. Hope you like the chapter!

I would also like to thank Minnyna for both favoriting and following. And also check out Parting Ways by moirabb. I'll be sure to put it in my fav's and also to on my author list. Its a really good story!

Anyways, I think I can churn out a chapter a week so be sure to check back then alright? So, as always please review, add me to your favorites or just pm me. THANK YOU! -throws cookies out to readers-


	3. Somewhere I Belong

Megan awoke to a frosty morning. Her joints creaked as she moved, her right arm still in a cast, getting up to go to the bathroom to do her morning routine. It had been 3 weeks, nearly a month, since her house became full. She had adjusted quickly to doing things with her left hand, and was even enjoying the fact that there were other people in her home. As of yet, there had been no accidental walking-ins mainly because her door was firmly locked from the inside and remained so all night. She grabs her toothbrush and toothpaste and begins the task of brushing her teeth, now she had a handy dandy travel brush and paste that went with her in case of emergency. She finishes and grabs an elastic and ties up her hair as best she can, drawing a bath in her large Jacuzzi tub. She had to go back to the doctor today. They had made several more trips into town, to get more clothing and food. Shaun hadn't been kidding, these guys could eat. Apparently they all had high metabolisms and therefore had to eat several times a day…

Well, except Alex. As it turned out, he_ consumed_ animals to eat. She didn't dwell too much on what exactly that meant but she had noticed the lack of deer, elk, and mountain lion tracks in the grove behind her house and easily came to the conclusion of what that meant. But she wasn't going to complain. As to how she had found this out, nightly meetings with her finishing very late found him to be more talkative and willing to give her some information. Especially when she had asked him if he wanted some of the hot chocolate she was making, because she wasn't going to bed till the sun was peeking into the room. Her mind was active and with the little information she was gleaning from them as they grew more comfortable around her, she was finding that ideas were easier to come by and that alone had her grinning like a loon. She had grabbed a short sleeve purple V-necked shirt and some dark washed skinny jeans. She puts on some dark gray faux leather boots that zipped up the inside of her legs.

She finished her morning routine, grabbing Alex's jacket that he had yet to retrieve from her, and exits her room at the same time Desmond exits his. "Morning short stuff."

"Morning Woody." She grins as he groans, rolling his eyes. Altair leaves his room, takes one look at Desmond and gives a little smile.

"Again?" He questions her, ignoring Desmond.

"No, but it's still fun." She answers. A week after they had shown up, Desmond had fallen asleep on the couch and Megan had found him that morning. He was supposed to have fed the fire when he went to bed. But that morning she woke up to frost in her room and covering some of the things. She went downstairs, covered in a hoodie, her old high school letterman, and about 3 pairs of thick socks (for some reason the jacket had disappeared but when she had returned to her room it was there waiting on her) while the rest when to check to see if Desmond was in his room. She had walked into the living room and found him lying on the couch in sweat pants and plain white t-shirt asleep. Fuming she had stalked over and began to tear into him, waking him up. He had grabbed her blanket from the back of the couch and covered his lower half. She stopped what she had been saying and suddenly realized just what he was covering up. She had released a strangled noise and then tore off back upstairs, refusing to leave her room until Alex had more or less busted her door down just to give her food. She was easily embarrassed by it and couldn't look at Desmond for a day or two afterwards. But then she realized just what she could do with the information and didn't let him think for a minute she wasn't going to use it against him.

"I am never sleeping down there again."

"You say that now but you know it'll happen again."

"Yes, but let us go eat the morning meal." Altair says with a nod to the stairs. Megan sighs but heads in the direction to go down. She was taking all of them into town this time; her second vehicle was big enough to fit them all thankfully and she knew that they were going to be needing a few more things. When they went last, she had seen a few extra things she figured they would enjoy but she wasn't sure she would be sane with all of them around. They had found a way for Altair and Ezio to forgo their accents; even Malik was making strides to sound American. She was really chalking it up to Des making them watch so much TV and also listening to her and Des talking. When she makes it down the stairs she sees the snowmen that Des, Shaun, and she had made. She lets out a giggle, seeing the rather atomically messed up ones of hers and Des. Shaun's was a regular one, the spoil sport.

She forgoes the meal that was handed to her by said Brit, instead getting a cup of coffee and putting 5 small spoonfuls and creamer in it. Mocha flavored. Yum.

"You need to eat." Ezio remarks with a frown, Leonardo mirroring the look.

"Y'all are going to make me fat with all the food I've been eating." She says with a grin, the cup resting against her lips for a moment to warm them before taking a drink. The frowns, now being sent from all 7 men, deepen.

"You're too skinny." Altair says. Suddenly, the other 6 stop frowning and look first at the Arab then at her. Her own look darkens, happiness gone.

"So you're saying that I'm a twig?" She questions, setting her cup down and leaning against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest. The other six gulp, Des motioning for him to not answer.

"No just that you could do with gaining a little. Perhaps it will help to keep you warm." He remarks back, not understanding why the other men were acting as such. She spies the book Malik had been reading, Interview with the Vampire, sitting on the counter beside her. She reaches for it and chunks it causing solid 'THWAK' sound when it makes contact with his head. All eyes widen in surprise as he slinks back into his chair, the book falling off his face beforehand. He clutches his face with a groan, leaning his head back as a little blood trickles down past his scarred lips. Her own eyes widen when she sees this.

She grabs a hand towel hanging beside her, turns the facet on with cold water to dowse a little of it and runs over to his side. She removes his hands and dabs at the blood dripping from his nose before holding the wet part under it. Suddenly someone begins to laugh a little and they all start in, her included, and Alex's mouth twitches.

"Why today did my clumsiness fail?" She groans out a little, a grin on her face. They all knew what she was talking about. She could be graceful sometimes, even pulling off rather complicated things, but most of the time she would trip over her own feet.

"Agreed." Was all Altair says, voice garbled as he speaks past the cloth.

* * *

"Remind me why you guys are all in here?" She questions rhetorically, waiting to get the cast off and replaced. The doctor was going to check on her arm by taking an x-ray to make sure the bones were healing right. It was just that the room was small and there were a lot of people in it. She wanted to beat some of the women out in the lobby (she guessed that was partially the reason, they were ogled like crazy out there and she was even sure some of them had gotten numbers) because they were driving her crazy and also causing stress for them all. They were all sitting around or standing, Alex beside her and his jacket back on him. She wondered how it was always warm, even after it had been hanging around in her room in the cold. It was now common for her to be seen wearing it, the first time nearly giving everyone a heart attack.

"I gotta say: Nice shirt. Impressing someone today?" Des questions, a grin on his face.

"Yeah, your dad. Meet your new mum." She says with as straight a face as she could. It didn't last long as she begins laughing, Des giving her a dirty look before grinning himself.

"Nice one." The door opens and the doctor's eyes widen at the amount of people.

"Save me, they won't leave me alone!" She says before laughing. "Sorry, they were being harassed out in the lobby."

"No, it's alright..." The doctor says slowly before clearing his throat. "Miss Ryan I take it?" She nods and he pulls up the rolling chair in front of her. She holds out her right arm, cast heavy and bending it slightly. He pulls out a brace of sorts from the side of the table and sets her arm in it then grabs the tiny circular saw. Altair, Malik, and Leo get a little antsy when they see it but Des shakes his head to let them know it was alright. They had already talked about what to expect when they got there so they would know. The doctor pulls a mask over the lower part of his face.

"Now don't breathe this in." The doctor starts to saw, cutting into the hardened fiberglass causing dust to fly everywhere. Unconsciously she leans into Alex to get away from it. Her back begins to warm exponentially when she does this and she has to force herself not to jump in surprise at it. In fact, she found herself leaning more into him if possible. "Done, now let's take a look at that arm." He says prying open the cast and she lifts her arm rather quickly from not having the extra weight on it. The appendage was thinner than her other arm and even had a slight smell to it. She was just happy to see it looked much better than the last time, what with it swollen and purplish. The doctor takes her arm, checking the bones.

"Healing really well, enough so that I don't believe you're not going to need another cast in fact. Just a brace." He says with a smile at her and she couldn't help her own from coming onto her face.

"Thank god." Was her response, a breathy laugh following. He fits her for one and then dismisses her after scheduling another appointment for 3 weeks away. She was happy, no longer having to wear the overrated and heavy cast. The doctor showed Des how to get it tight enough for when she put it back on after taking a shower or sleeping without it. She didn't much mind though, too happy to really care. As they exit the building, she almost falls by slipping on a patch of ice. Alex, who was behind her, catches her by grabbing one arm and holding her up. She winces inside, outwardly breathing a sigh of relief.

"Thanks." She gives him a grin, wearing his jacket once more. The others just shake their heads at her antics but none the less, couldn't blame her joy. She would have to wait till later to see if she had bruised from it though, her arm hurt a little and the flesh he held tender. Long sleeves, here she comes; not that it was anything new.

He nods and releases her arm. "Hey Des, Imma need you to redo the brace when we stop and eat. I have got to wash my arm, it just feels gross."

Des laughs and agrees.

* * *

They were back home. Megan had nearly attacked some idiot college kids who tried as best they could to invite the men to a party tonight when they went to the mall for some things. She received some horrible pick-up lines from some jocks that made her want to gag, most of which were about getting into her pants. She was just happy to be away from stupid people.

"Hey, wait, what about when you fell!?"

"I attacked the floor." She retorts to Ezio who was in front of her. He snorts with laughter.

"Backwards?"

She shrugs after putting down her bags on the counter. "What can I say, I'm freaking talented."

Everyone laughs at this, Ezio shaking his head as well. Snow floats down from his head to melt on the floor and she couldn't help but shake her hair to remove it from her own. It had begun to snow really hard when they were 15 minutes from her house and needless to say, she was glad Shaun was driving. She refused to do so because she wasn't comfortable with driving in snow, hence why she hermitted away for 5 to 6 months of the year. Bags were dropped and what food items that had been gotten were put away. Lunch had been interesting, mostly because they had went to Red Lobster. She wasn't much for sea food but couldn't resist the cheddar biscuits. It had been interesting, to say the least. She actually saw Alex eat regular food, if only a little of it. Really, he had just stolen some of the food from her plate like it was no big deal.

She walks over to her cabinets, checking to see if she had all the ingredients for Potato Soup. She wanted to surprise the guys, having not been able to cook because of the weight of the cast. Des was alright for small, easy meals that didn't have a lot of things going in it. "Hey, I was gunna make dinner!"

She looks at Des and tsk's him, wagging her finger for good measure. "Not tonight. You're not a bad cook, but I've been missing cooking my own meals. Besides, all of you are going to love it." She smiles. "You can help though. Start peeling the potatoes." She commands, nodding her head to the starchy veggies. Ezio grabs the peeler and the trash before Des even managed to, and grins happily as he begins to start peeling. Megan rolls up the sleeves of Alex's jacket and start chopping the onion and bell pepper. She then cooks them and puts them into the big pot, taking the potatoes from Des after he cut them up in even squares. She pours water, adds a little butter, and pet milk in and then sets it to boiling. She really didn't need to watch it now but she needed to check out her arm. It was killing her. She hoped she had been doing a good job of acting like she wasn't in any pain. So far, no one seemed to notice.

"Hey Des, watch the stuff for a minute. I need to get something from my room." He agrees and she heads upstairs. She goes to her room and shuts the door, pulling off the jacket and setting it on her bed. She goes to her bathroom and pulls off her shirt, looking at her arm and the deep blue-ish purple marks that were on it and her ribs. That one surprised her, she hadn't felt it at all and it didn't hurt either. Her eyes drift up and find Alex standing behind her, a sadden look in his eyes. She gasps and tries to cover up.

"What-"

"It's nothing." She says quickly trying to put on her shirt but is stopped by him gently, far gentler than she expected, holding onto her arm to stop her. He pokes them and she winces, they were tender after all, and he releases her quickly, afraid he was going to cause more of them.

"When?"

"When I slipped at the doctor's office." She answers, adverting her eyes. He mumbles something under his breath and she looks up at him. "It's ok, really. I bruise easy." He backs away from her, not wanting to cause more harm and she feels something stir her heart. He had helped her from busting her ass and the bruises were just collateral. "W-wait, we… um, we can work on being careful." He stops, surprised. That hadn't been what he was expecting, he hurt her but she wanted to help him.

"What do you mean?" He questions after a moment. She releases a breath and nods to herself.

"Think of it as a way to… train on being gentle." She says, putting her shirt on. She felt sort of embarrassed with it not on. She could only think of this as a way to keep him around, she didn't want him to leave just because she got a few bruises. He waits a minute before answering.

"What if-"

"I get hurt?" She shrugs, not all too worried with it. "Then it happens and it shows you that you have to use less force. Think of it as a learning experience." She adds as an afterthought. "I'm willing to go through it so you can learn." She crosses her arms over her chest and waits for his answer.

"…"

"I'll take that as a yes and nothing you say otherwise will dissuade me, so trying to do so will not work." She gives him a smile and heads to her door.

"If they get worse we stop." She stops and turns around to face him. After thinking it over, she gives him a soft smile and nods in agreement. He grabs his jacket from off her bed and hands it over to her, helping her to put it on, then follows her downstairs. Des, Shaun, and Ezio look at the two of them as they come down but she grins and shrugs, a bright smile on her face.

"How's it looking?" She questions, taking the large wooden spoon from him and getting a fork out of the drawer to pick up a potato to check. It squished easily and she knew it was nearly done, just needed the last few ingredients for it to be so. She adds the rest of the stuff and lets it simmer until she was sure it was finished. She motions for Alex, who was now her second shadow, to get bowls and she fills them halfway with the soup. She passes them out, taking her own bowl into the living room to sit on her couch; Alex followed her and sits with her on the couch, and she adjusts enough that his body heat was helping to keep her warm. It wasn't like she could keep warm anyways, what with the winter air cold as all get out.

"Ooo, they're getting cozy over there." She hears from Ezio who starts to laugh quietly, Leo elbowing him in the side to get him to shush. Altair and Malik give them odd looks but Des and Shaun just roll their eyes, unperturbed by it because they were from a more modern era and as such didn't notice anything out of place.

"Shuddup Ezio and eat your soup." Megan says, giving him a look that showed she wasn't pleased. Things were fine with her and she didn't much mind what the elder era men cared about her being anywhere near close to a man. But things were different for her, she really only cared that he was helping to keep her warm kinda like a space heater. She giggles quietly as she comes to that conclusion though she wouldn't be caught calling him that out loud.

Said Italian rolls his eyes at her but complies though he and the rest keep their eyes on the two. They didn't know what had transpired in the 5 minutes the two were upstairs but they could see that they were just fine, if not closer. They didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. They could tell that they had been getting close or on somewhat friendly terms after the second day when they had noticed that the stranger man had been hanging around a little more but still maintaining a distance from all of them. Seemed that barrier had effectively been torn down.

* * *

A knock on the door to her study causes her to jump in surprise. She pulls down the computer's screen and squints into the darkness, the glasses nearly falling off her nose as she does.

"Turning the light on." Was all the warning she received before the room was flooded with artificial light. She pulls the glasses off and rubs her eyes which were watering terribly from the barrage on her retinas. When they finally quit and she was able to see, after putting her glasses back on, she finds Alex at the door to her study.

"Yeah?" She asks, wondering if something was wrong. He never bothered her before so what was there left to assume because of that. He walks into the study further before closing the door behind him.

"Figured we could start tonight." Her brain was a little fried from having been writing but she knew what he was talking about. She figured why not.

"Well, what do you want to start with?"

"… How about general interactions." She nods and stands. She had long since changed clothes into a black long sleeve shirt, gray flannel pants, and some fuzzy gray socks that were actually keeping her feet warm of which she was happy about. She figured he was talking about hand shaking and other regular things. He holds out his right hand and she her left, taking it in a soft grip. He near mirrors it, just a smidge to tightly.

"Loosen up. Relax." She says and he does, the grip becoming feather light. "Think of holding onto an egg that you don't want to break." She gives the analogy with a smile, and repeats it several more times throughout the night. It was getting really late when Alex calls it quits for the night. They had gone over shaking hands and a few other different things. She figured that hugs were out of the question, he really didn't seem like one of the touchy feely type of person but she was fine with that. She yawns widely, almost swaying on her feet from exhaustion. The day had been long and her sitting there for a few hours on her computer really didn't help any. Alex helps her over to the couch, which she takes the pillow and her blanket and gets comfortable. "You don't have to help me. I've done this so many times I've lost count." She says with a shiver. The living room was freezing and she didn't have the strength to get up to mess with the thermostat or restart the fire. Alex looked between her and the world outside, sighs and picks her up, blanket and all, taking her upstairs. He enters her room, helps her under the covers and then removes his hoodie before crawling in under the blankets with her. Without really meaning to she moves closer to him in an attempt to get warm, her body giving away just how cold she really was by being wracked with shivers.

"S-sorry." She apologizes with a nervous chuckle. He shakes his head, dark curly brown hair sitting upon his head. He didn't look quite so threatening without all the layers on his body. She quickly falls asleep, wondering if he was just doing this till she was out and then he would leave.

* * *

"Aw, how cute. Wish we had a camera." She hears from somewhere. She didn't care though. She was warm, she was happy.

"That is preposterous; doesn't she know that it is unwise to do such a thing?" Another voice says.

"Oh, leave them be. I have to agree it's cute though."

"You're all bloody gits."

"Hmph."

"Adorable! But I think she's waking up."

Damn right she was starting to wake up. Mind you, she really didn't want to she was comfortable. But she takes notice that her bed was moving, up and down, up and down. Groggily she opens her eyes to white. Her sheets weren't white right then. She leans her head up to find she was halfway on top of Alex, who was still asleep. The only thing she really had going for her was the fact that both of them had their clothes on. Looking to her door finds the 6 trying to scramble away having been caught. She swore they were nearly as bad as kids who had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"You're awake." Alex says, and she could feel the words vibrate in his chest. She squeaks, surprised, and pushes off of him to the other side of the bed. He watches her with his icy blue eyes and sits up, running a hand through his curly hair. His collar was no longer popped up and she had to say he looked better without the thing around his face.

"You didn't have to stay. You could have left." She states and he shakes his head in the negative.

"You had a death grip on my clothing. I would have dragged you from your bed if I had tried." He answers and gets out of the bed without so much as stretch or groan. Even though she knew she didn't weight that much, it couldn't have been comfortable for someone to have laid on top of you all night.

She gives a small laugh, nervousness making it high pitched. She was still tired, though she had to say that was probably the best sleep she had gotten without having gotten drunk. Not since..._ 'No, don't think about that.'_ She chides herself, squashing the thoughts from her mind. She looks at the pillows on her bed to Alex then to her door and repeats a few more time before flopping back down and deep under the covers. Alex raises one eyebrow at this.

"You need to get up."

"No, to tired." Was her response, muffled by the blankets that were on her. She hears him chuckle then the door shut. She lets out a breath but sucks it back in again when Alex's weight settles on the bed and then under the covers.

"I could tell. You were snoring." Affronted, she playfully hits him even though she knew it had to hurt her more than him. "Relax. Sleep. If they come in again I'll get them out." Well, she couldn't disagree with that now could she?

Her body was already betraying her as she yawned widely, covering it with her hands. While never one to really snuggle, she did manage to get close to him so she could share his body heat. He grunts in a mocking way and pulls her against him. Almost instantly her eyes were closing and she didn't much mind. As before, she was warm, she was safe. Nothing really mattered outside of the cocoon of blankets and pillows and warmth.

* * *

Well, I know I said once a week but I haven't slept yet and it 6:04 am. I just don't feel tired. I tried to lay down but it didn't work. -sighs- Oh well. I hope you like this chapter. I kept laughing at some of the stuff I was typing. Could have been the lack of sleep that made it funny though.

Any ways, I wanna thank Raychaell Dionzeros for reviewing the last chapter and I'm glad your enjoying it!

Well, thanks to all who've read this. But just remember that I do accept reviews, even from annoymous reviewers. You can always e-mail or PM me as well. Till next time!


	4. From The Inside

Ok, I feel the need to alert my readers that this story is a version of AU. I know I virtually said it in the first chapter but I just want to clarify that it is.

* * *

Near four weeks she had been sharing her bed with Alex. While nothing was going on, other than her staying toasty warm, the rest of the guys weren't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand; Alex wasn't so weird and distant, and Megan had a spring to her step and didn't say much of anything about being cold. On the other, the girl could easily be taken advantage of (and just how easily was really a debate warred between Altair, Desmond, and Ezio. Desmond and Ezio saying she was a grown woman and could do as she pleased while Altair could only say how improper it was for a man and woman to be sharing a bed when not married. In other words, completely moot pointed.)

"Hey!" She greeted the 5 men who were coming back into the house from the back. They had been out training. She still couldn't believe that she had Assassin's living in her home, let alone goofing off with her when she needed to blow off steam like Ezio and Des were more than willing to do. They greet back with varying degrees of exhaustion, more so from Des and Shaun who were currently flopped on her couches in an attempt to regain their breaths. "I have got to say that my readers are going to love this next book when they finish printing it."

Altair and Malik give her small smiles as they sit at the bar; taking the drinks she had sitting and waiting on them. Ezio shakes his head; they defiantly hadn't been expecting a rather gleeful squeal when they had let it slip what it was that they did. And then all of a sudden, with as polite a way as possible, she was… grilling them as Desmond told them so she could get ideas for her stories. The next several days they found her in her study, every day, ignoring meals and all of the men, staying up late late and getting up early if that had been what was going on. Desmond, Shaun, Ezio had bets as to if she was sleeping and when. So far, none knew who was winning.

"This is insane. It's to fucking cold to be out there." She rolls her eyes. This was normal now, Desmond bitching about the training from his elders and Shaun just giving dirty looks at them. She had managed to see some of it one day, Des taking on Malik and the single armed man was wiping the younger's ass, before Leo herded her back inside from the cold. She was still upset about that but knew he had only done so for her safety. As soon as she had turned away a knife had buried itself in the siding of her home, having flown past where she previously stood. Needless to say, she went inside a little quicker.

"Quit whining, you're getting fat anyways." She says, leaning back over the letter she had received earlier and trying to hold in a smile. Suddenly she begins to frown, standing up and picking the piece of paper up to read once more. This of course gets everyone's attention and they look at her worried. "HELL YES!" She shouts pumping her fists in the air before doing a happy dance. Now they were definitely worried, more for sanity than anything. "I got on the bestselling list with my last book, it's a bit hit!" She says a huge grin plastered on her face.

"Let's celebrate then." Desmond says, Ezio nodding his head in agreement so hard she thought he was going to get whiplash, getting up off the couch and heading to the kitchen. She crosses her arms over her chest, cocking a hip as well, with her eyebrows raised.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" She questions, smile on her lips. She couldn't wait to hear his response on this. He gives her a grin, opening her liquor cabinet and pulling out several drink mixes.

"You have a bartender right here. It's not so hard for me to slip back into former ways." He says, continuing to pull out several other bottles. She blinks, having forgotten he had been one.

"Alright fine. I think we could all use a bit of down time." She answers with a grin. "Though I think it's more along the lines of you getting to sit on your lazy ass." She mumbles under her breath. He hears her and gives her a dirty look to which she returns with a smile. It was just to easy in which to rile the other man up. It felt like a brother/sister relationship to her, one that she knew and was comfortable with. In fact, she had the same relationship with all of them but to varying degrees. Malik and Leo were able to keep her on her intellectual toes, bringing to attention something she may have gotten wrong if it was from during or before their times. Shaun was like the brother who you could throw barbs at and he would throw back just as hard. Altair was more interested with keeping her healthy and active, not afraid to pull her out of her bed or study in order to do so. She was beginning to 'enjoy the burn' as they say. And she was getting better at hiding from the man on days when she really didn't want to. Ezio, well Ezio was there to help her goof off.

Alex, he was another story. They had progressed well in his 'training', though she had a bruise here or there. She was careful not to let him or any of the others notice it. So far she was doing a good job of it.

"Do you need anything else?" She questions a moment later, already making a list in her head of things that needed to be gotten in town. Some of it was important, like chocolate and ice cream. She could already feel the pangs of menstrual cramps starting, probably another day or two before mother's nature promise on her having children in the future showed up. She was going to get a few heating pads while she was at it, so she could stash them away in her study and room. She was glad that she only got her period every 4 month, thanks to the wonders of medical breakthroughs. The men wouldn't last if she got it every month. Hell, she wouldn't last if she did that was how bad she got on her own nerves.

Des gives her the list of things, so many that she actually had to write them down in order to be sure she got what he needed. Alex decides to go with her but other than him no one wanted to. She gets into her ford expedition, the other vehicle she owned, starting it up and waiting for it warm. The leather seats were cold; she could feel it through her jeans. With the mantra of _'my ass is cold, my ass is cold'_ sounding off in her head, she really didn't mind all too much. Nothing really could dampen her spirit at this moment. She had to get snacks, seeing as the ones they bought last week were all gone, and the few things she was going to need for three to five days.

Sometimes, she really hated to be a woman.

Alex climbs in the passenger seat, just now getting into the car. "Something they forget?" She questions, putting the SUV in reverse then into drive, pulling out of her driveway and onto the street. Looked like the snow plows made it up around her place if the cleaner streets were anything to go by.

"The riot act."

She laughs. "Again! Third time they've done that."

Alex shrugs, pulling the seatbelt over him. "Just want you to be safe."

"I am safe. I pity the imbeciles who try to take you on." She retorts, giving him a smile. She wasn't worried, well she was but not about her safety. More for Desmond and Ezio, Altair didn't take kindly to the two's jokes and pranks. And with her not around to curb them from doing any, well, she could only hope everyone survived. She'd noticed the escalation in Altair's training of them and the pranks to get him back. The first few were ignored because he even found them funny but after a while it went from funny to ridiculous, now they were starting to border on cruel.

"I agree." Alex answers, moving the visor down to cover his eyes and relaxing into the seat closing his eyes.

* * *

"Ohmygod! MEGAN!" Yells out a female voice nearly causing Megan to drop the bag of chips she was holding. Alex stiffens, preparing himself in case of a fight. Turning Megan sees a young woman around her age tearing towards her, pushing people out of her way. Taking a closer look she sees that the woman has pale skin, straight dirty blonde hair, and was possible her own height or a little taller. Upon reaching Megan she throws her arms open and envelopes her in a hug that was so tight, Megan feared her ribs were breaking. The woman pulls back, a bright wide smile plastered on her face. Megan notices that she had a splash of freckles on her face and her eyes were a crystalline green color. "Oh my god, it's so good to see you!"

"Um, ok?" She says, unsure of whom this woman is. The woman's brows furrow with confusion.

"You don't remember me?"

Megan shakes her head in the negative and the woman lets her go. "Afraid not."

"It's ok, been a long time anyways." She gives a sad chuckle. "My name's Jessica." Megan's brain functioning stops; she did have a friend way back when named Jessica but that had been in elementary and junior high. She moved schools right before high school, causing her to try to make friends at the new one; safe to say that it didn't work. Her rather blunt attitude then had set people off.

"Jessica… Jessica Hurles?" She questions, remembering the name but unsure if it was the right one. The woman's face lights up and she knew she had it right. A large grin breaks out over her face and she nods.

"Yeah, how have you been? How's your family?" Megan's face falls. She still hadn't told any of the men living with her about her family, the subject still a bleeding wound that had yet to heal. Noticing her downed mood, Alex's brows furrow and his eyes dart between Megan and the other woman. There was just something that he couldn't place that was setting him off kilter and it was coming from this new person. And if she was making Megan sad, it was enough for him to get this woman to leave. People were giving wide berth but still giving dirty looks to them, which Alex returns causing them to look away and his attention returned to the two women in front of him. Finally the new girl's eyes flick to him and widen.

"Who… Is this your, uh, husband?" She questions instead and Megan licks her suddenly dry lips. Was is hot in here or was it just her? She looks at Alex, mind not only frozen but trying to reboot with an answer.

She suddenly gives a low nervous laugh. "No, no, nonono. This is, uh, my… Boyfriend, Alexander." Megan says, that laugh still on her lips. Alex shoots her a dirty look quickly before nodding to the newcomer. The woman didn't seem to notice the look as she was switching between the two before giving him a smile and holding out her hand to him for a moment before retracting it at the nod.

"How long y'all been dating?"

"Just started." Was Megan's answer to Jessica. She twines her arm with his, both to give appearances and to also keep the man grounded. He was still using a little too much force for some of the things they were practicing. Handshakes being the biggest problem, she was still having to wear the brace after she ended up switching hands once the cast came off. The other woman's smile widens a little, the smile now forced for some reason. But she ignores it, wanting to get rid of the woman. Even though she was happy to have met someone she had known prior in her life, it stung that she had to bring up her family. She wanted to forget everything, to just think of these other people as her new one. What were friends but family you choose?

"But hey, we're kinda busy. It was so nice to see you again." She says giving the other woman a smile and holding out a hand. She still had her other arm twinned with Alex's, the man focusing on her instead of the other people surrounding them. Why she had said that he was her boyfriend he didn't know. He filed it away to ask later when they were going back to the house; along with that she had remained so close to him despite that she knew he didn't enjoy things like that. But then again, his anger had been getting to him the longer this person stood there talking to them.

Understanding dawns on her face and she nods, promising to see them around. After she was gone, Megan nearly drops had she not instead leaned into Alex. Her emotions were now spent, between her lying about Alex and also avoiding the subject of her family. Her heart was aching, the invisible wound bleeding. Alex waits for her to regain her sense of self, and when she does she stands straight but doesn't let go of him. Now he was grounding her instead of her grounding him. The gather the remaining items they needed, the heating pads especially, pay and leave. Megan quietly starts the expedition, waiting as Alex puts the groceries in and then gets in, and they begin to head on to the house. Once they got out of city limits Alex decides to ask the question he had put aside.

* * *

"Why did you tell her we were dating?"

Megan jumps, looking at him in surprise. She hadn't really thought about it at the time, just tried to find a way to both explain and keep the other woman from flirting. Now that she thought about it, Jessica hadn't even noticed him till the end of the conversation. She had been more interested in Megan instead. "I… don't really know. I kinda just said the first thing that came to mind." She answers truthfully, eyes remaining on the road. Alex grunts, understanding then. The question had also surprised him but he had been about to answer when she had. What she had responded with had surprised him as well. But with all the attention they, all of the men now living with her, garnered she had come up with a good answer to keep him sane. "I'm sorry; I should have said something else. Should have said you were a friend."

"No, it's fine. I know why you said that." He answers and then remains quiet for the rest of the trip. She nodded and does the same, internally fighting down her thoughts so she wouldn't be so off when they got back. She didn't want sympathy from anyone, in fact she rather not (as she has been for over a year) that it never happened. That she wasn't an adult orphan. The pain wasn't real; it didn't ever happen so it doesn't exist.

Several hours later and more than enough alcoholic beverages in, Megan was feeling good. She had made the rounds dancing with Desmond, Ezio, Leo, and even Altair and Malik had joined in. The two older assassins had had only a drink or two with plenty of time in between them. It was interesting to say how they all danced different; Desmond wild and crazy, with lots of jumping and just being silly. Leo and Ezio were more old school, waltz and such. Ezio even showed her a party dance from Venice, all twirls and space between the bodies. Altair and Malik showed her, after searching forever on her computer for a song that sounded correct to them, a traditional dance that ended up just being twisted by Desmond into something more resembling a club dance. Many a time she had to stop and catch her breath, laughter erupting from all of them when she would fall to the ground instead of going and sitting on the couch they had pushed against her wall of windows. Alex had even par took of the spirits, the alcohol only seeming to give a buzz no matter how much he drank, and found himself enjoying the company more than he had before.

"Alex come on, dance with us!" Megan says breathless, her face red from both the liquor and the exertion, taking both of his hands in hers and pulling him to his feet. She continues to pull him onto their impromptu dance floor, Good Charlotte's Dance Floor Anthem playing loudly from her laptop they had confiscated into the living room. He was grinning, happy that whatever funk she had been put in gone. After about 6 different kinds of mixed drinks, Megan had ran upstairs to change shirts into a red low scoop necked tank top; it had about put the older era men in an early grave, save Leo who thought it was a wonderful top. She ignored them, instead continuing to dance with Leo and Des.

They were just acting silly now, too much alcohol in their systems to make them only think they were dancing. He stands there, attempting to not burst out laughing at them. She falls against him after tripping on her own feet, with enough momentum to actually knock them both over. Everyone begins to laugh tottering unsteadily on their feet before finally joining the two on the ground, all laughing harder because of it.

"I'm to tired to get now." Megan says after catching her breath. Everyone agrees, bodies limp from exertion and the effects of the liquor. Eyes heavy, they eventually drift off to sleep, ignoring the lights and music that remained on.

* * *

"Oh, my head…" Megan groans as she wakens, the sun's rays and the artificial light provided by the bulbs burning her retinas. She hears groaning to accompany and agree with her statement all in a pile of aching and cold bodies. She was warm, something heavy resting on her upper half, curled up against something solid and burning hot. She leans up, eyes barely open to see just why she was warm. Turns out she was molded against Alex's side with his jacket on her. Desmond jumps up and staggers to the downstairs bathroom and shuts the door, violent retching sounding passed the closed piece of wood. Shaun moans, his face green and turning greener the longer Desmond prayed to the porcelain god. As soon as he exited, the Brit replaced him continuing the prayer.

"Shit…" Desmond groans out, slowly making his way to the kitchen and starting a pot of coffee. He was splayed across the counter, waiting on the life giving sustenance to finish percolating. Shaun exits the bathroom, none the worse for wear though still a little green, and goes to the couch to lay across it. Leo just lays there with Ezio, both giving little whimpers of pain to the pounding in their heads. Altair and Malik get up, slightly unsteady, and continue on to go upstairs and possibly change clothing and shower. "Kill me now please…" Des moans.

"Shut up you git. You're whining is making my head worse." Shaun bites out, head underneath her blanket.

"Me first, kill me first." Megan says, laying back down and hiding under Alex's jacket which offered blessed darkness. She more feels than hears his rumbling laughter. Des and Shaun offer protests and then argue who deserved to be offed first. Suddenly Alex gets up, effectively removing her largest heat source, and she attempts to cling to him but backs off and hides back under the jacket when the light once more invades her eyes.

"Come back, was warm.." She moans out.

* * *

Her head was still killing her but she was in her room and the place was as dark as she could make it, thick blankets all but nailed around the windows in her room and her bathroom door firmly shut. Her TV was on and some ghost show, called Ghost Adventures, was on and making her happy if not a little freaked out. The hand reaching out of one of the guy's shadow had almost made her scream. Alex had left to go 'eat' and had yet to return. But he promised to watch the show with her and she was to enraptured to change the channel. She only wished that she could fast forward through the commercials.

"Hey Megan-"

The door suddenly opening and the voice causes her to scream as loudly as she could, clutching her blanket to her chest, and hears a stampede coming up the stairs while the door opener gives a startled scream of his own. The light get turned on and she flops back into her bed, flipping the bird to Des as she does. Said man was plastered to her open door breathing hard with a dark look on his face at Altair and Ezio who both had strange knives from their wrists against his throat.

"Fucking hell Des." She says with a laugh after a moment, to which both of the older men remove the sharp pieces of metal from his person.

"Shit, what has you so freaked out that it nearly cost me my life?" She just points to her TV, still flopped back on her bed unable to see what was going on with the show. But she could see him roll his eyes at the show. "Any ways, some chick called. Wanted to know if you and Alex wanted to '_double date_'."

"Fuuuhhhccckkk." She moans out, throwing an arm over her eyes. She saw the look he was giving her, the shit-eating grin, and grabs a pillow and chunks it at him. It falls short. "Screw you Desmond!"

He laughs, picking up the cotton stuffed thing and tosses it back at her. It lands over her face with _**'poomf'**_. She rips it off and glares at them but then stops to think the question over. Really it was a no brainer. Alex hadn't liked the girl and while she may have known her back when they were children, she didn't know her anymore. Did she want to? "Tell her no. But do it politely!" She answers, yelling the last part when he walks off. He gives her a loud, though grumbly, affirmative.

"Wanna watch with me?" Megan asks after a minute. Altair, Ezio, and Malik were still standing in her room; glancing around it as if to assure themselves she was fine and there was no threat. When she asks, they give the TV a look before either giving a grin or laughing, telling her no. They exit, closing the door but leaving the light on by her insistence. She didn't want another accident like that whenever Alex finally decided to show up.

Four hour long episodes later said man walks into her room to find the light on and her curled up under one of the many blankets that made up her bed, looking almost like a babushka when she looks at him. A smile breaks out over her face as she realizes just who it was, and pats the spot beside her as she removes the rather ratty navy blue blanket from covering her head. He found that the smile she gave him whenever she noticed him returning or right before she woke up in the morning was stirring something inside of him. As to what, he wasn't sure. Possibly his long lost humanity? He didn't know.

He nods to her, giving a slight upturn on one side of his mouth as a smile, and removes both his jacket and his hoodie; setting them on the chair that she had pulled from storage and placed in her room. It was circular and slightly fuzzy, the color red but only a little faded, and had no support besides the rim around the outer part of the chair thus leaving you suspended in the air. He believes she called it a saucer chair. He removes his shoes and sets them beside it as well before making his way over to her, laying down beside her. She jumps up, runs over to the door and shuts it then turns off the light before returning to her spot to once more envelope herself in blankets but closer to him.

"I nearly got Des killed earlier." She near 10 minutes later causing him to burst out laughing.

* * *

Alright, another chapter out! -smiles- This one was kind of influenced by me going to the bar about last thursday. Didn't get drunk though. Gave me a good idea for the chapter still. I wanna thank all of you who are reading this story. Even if you don't review or fave, just getting on her and seeing the traffic graph's numbers makes me happy. It shows me that people actually read this.

I wanna thank Raychaell Dionzeros. I'm so happy that you really, really love the story!

I aslo wanna thank MoonlitMeeting for her reviews for chapters 2 and 3. I think Alex wouldn't be to happy with being used as a space heater too.

I know I'm a little early with this chapter but I said every week. It won't be on the same day but always one time a week. It really depends on my ideas and influences, along with my personal life and if it allows me to work on it. I'm aiming to make sure all chapters have atleast 4,000 words per chapter or more. As always, please send an e-mail or pm me or review. I allow reviews!

Thanks!


	5. Papercut

"Meggie, wakey wakey…" Something was tickling her nose. She swats at it, curling up into a tighter ball on the couch. Two days after their 'party' mother nature threw a wrench into the works. The heating pad was turned up as high as she could stand, only half helping to take the edge off of the pain. Megan had been downing Midol every two to four hours, depending on if she was conscious or not, and had effectively ripped off Altair's head from his shoulders when he grumbled about her being a little testy. She had banished herself to the living room, realizing just what was going on. She was never really that bad but then again, emotions had been running high these last few months.

The tickling thing was back.

She cracks one eye open to find Ezio was holding a feather in his hand, a goofy grin plastered on his face. "Good, you're up!" Her eye narrows. Was he stupid? Hadn't he been there when she ripped Altair a new one? "They wanted me to tell you they were going to town for a few hours. Something about giving you space." He shrugs.

"…Fuck off." Was her eloquent response and she closes her eyes, pulling her blanket over her head and curling tighter around the heating pad. She hears him laughing and walking off. She was in pain, and it was worse than usual. Thank god, she only had to wait for a day maybe two more and it would be over. Then she could apologize to Altair. Before was out of the question, not with how easy it was to make her irritated.

But she did have to wonder, was she really that bad right now? It wasn't like she could help it. And in her opinion, anger was better than bouts of depression and hysterical (and impromptu) crying. She felt no need to get chick flicks and have a crying fest, rather she wanted to find the nearest chocolate cake and eat the whole damn thing.

She sits up after a minute grabbing the pain killers and her water, and takes two of them before laying back down. "Ezio!" She cries after a few more minutes and the man comes into her view. "Go to my room and get my stuffed kitty? Please?" She questions, giving him the best pout she could muster at the time. He smiles at her and retrieves it quickly. She now knew why they left him; he was to be her yes man.

She could live with that.

Megan had called her agent to let him know she was going to be taking a break from all of her stories, so she could focus on herself. She had things she needed to sort out and couldn't do so when she had to worry about deadlines and manuscripts and fixing problems. He eventually agreed after about half an hour of her pleading her case to him. He told her to take as much time as she needed so she would be in top performance and as such, so would her stories. She had relocated herself to her room, only because she had a TV in there and didn't have one in the living room. She was curled up sideways on her bed, heating pads on her stomach and back, a blanket laid over her and watching locked up. She was finding that she was watching more TV, not the news but other random things that seemed to catch her interest. Even Alex was joining her more and more. She would still find herself reading books while watching the flat screen if only for the noise more than anything. Though she did enjoy watching America's Funniest Home Videos, when that was on everyone was in her room to watch it and laugh.

"Anything you need?" Ezio questions as he pops his head in, her door left open just for that purpose. She thinks about it for a few moments.

"Um, chocolate milk and uh… some of that stuff you made last night." She answers him, throwing a blanket back over herself. He leaves saying he would be back in a moment. She releases a breathe, gets up, and goes to the bathroom. Mother Nature was calling her and she was insistent.

When she exits she notices a rather tall glass of chocolate milk sitting on her side table and voices talking downstairs. She takes the glass and downs it, setting it back down. She wasn't in so much pain now and her emotions were better in check. She even felt confident that she wouldn't bite off anyone's head. So she headed out downstairs, taking the steps slowly to allow them to prepare just in case. When she makes it down and heads into the living room, pausing as everyone looks at her. They were leery. She gives them a smile and a wave to which they all relax at.

"Better?" Malik questions.

"Somewhat. I hate being a woman sometimes though." She answers with a laugh, making her way to her 'chair'. Altair leans away from her and she rolls her eyes.

* * *

Two nights later, banging awoke Megan later that night. She had gotten Altair to relax eventually, after forcing herself to apologize, and the rest of the day had been great. She rolls over and sees that Alex was still asleep, the sound not even registering to him. She wonders vaguely if she had them all that stressed out. She waits a minute to see if she hears the noise again but doesn't so she lays back down, relaxing into Alex once more. Something crashes causing her to jolt into a sitting position, heart in her throat. She shakes Alex but he doesn't waken. Frustrated she huffs and gets up, looking around her room for anything to protect herself with. She didn't find squat. Irritated she pulls at the green sleeves of the large long sleeve shirt she wore and the black soffe shorts.

'_Dammit, I gotta remind myself to get that stupid baseball bat from storage tomorrow. Fucking raccoons getting inside.'_ She thinks with a roll of her eyes, opening her door and heading downstairs. None of the other men had seemed to be bothered with the noise so she didn't think much of it. Going downstairs she flicks the lights on but nothing happens. _'Odd.'_ She purses her lips but shrugs, heading into the living room. She peers around in the dark, squinting her eyes, and sees a lamp that had been knocked off of one the side tables. She also notices the back door was cracked open. "Wha-"

A cloth covers her mouth, smelling of something sweet, and her body becomes limp and her vision fuzzy. She sags into the body behind her and the person lifts her up, throwing her over their shoulder. She loses conscious.

* * *

Alex awakens alone in Megan's bed. He listens for her in the bathroom but hears nothing.

"Hey Mega-.. Alex, where's Megan? Something broke one of the lamps downstairs." Desmond says after finding her door to her room open and only the other male in the room. Groggily Alex processes the information, brain stops, then reboots.

"You haven't seen her?"

Desmond shakes his head in the negative. "Nah was hoping she was here." Desmond could feel his heart moving further up his throat. This wasn't good. Alex gets out of the bed quickly, panic rising. Both men head downstairs where the rest were, looking around at the mess that was left behind. Books were strewn across the floor along with the lamp shattered on the hardwood.

"She wouldn't just leave." Shaun says his expression dark.

"What smells sweet?" Leo questions, smelling the air. The rest follow suit; Altair, Malik, and Shaun screwing up their faces as the scent assaults their smell receptors.

"Chloroform." Alex remarks, eyes widening with the information.

"Kidnapped." Altair speaks out, saying what they all knew. The phone suddenly rings causing them all to jump. Des was closest to it and he picks it up. He doesn't say anything instead listening to whoever was speaking then give the phone a steely look.

"What? What did they say?" Ezio questions.

"The guy said he has her and has no intention of letting her go. Voice sounded warbled. Used a voice scrambler." He answers. Shaun growls and grabs her laptop, breaking into the phone company to get all the information he needed. Alex heads outside, the ground covered in fresh snow. Any tracks would have been covered long ago. He was angry, the rage near blinding him. He didn't understand how the others could be so… calm, so level headed when the woman who had taken them in was gone. Just disappeared.

"Bloody computer. To slow." Shaun growls, anger manifesting as irritation. He pushes buttons quickly; Ezio, Altair, and Malik looking around the house to find anything they could use to help find the girl. They were all blaming themselves.

"I should have woke up. She could have gone to anyone of us and asked for help…" Desmond grouses, head down and his hands threaded together. His shoulders were tensed and hunched. Shaun shoots him a look but couldn't agree more. Who knew what had been going through the girl's head when she decided to go down by herself.

When he looks back he finds that the software he had downloaded had found the source of the number. Gave them an address even. "Got it."

* * *

The door opens and one of the other men walks out. He didn't know how long he had been out there, didn't want to know. "Shaun found the place. We are leaving."

It was Malik. Alex turns on his heels and walks past the Arab into the living room. The Brit was getting up from the computer, the sound of the printer working in Megan's study alerting him to Shaun printing something out. "The place is an abandoned warehouse over in the outskirts of Seattle." Alex nods, body morphing to give him not only his hoodie but his jacket too.

"Word of warning though." He remarks, voice deepening. They all look at him. "Stay behind me." They nod.

* * *

Her head hurt. Worse than the other night when they had managed to get her shitfaced. She attempts to open her eyes but could see nothing, eventually realizing something was covering her face the more she moved around and felt something hitting her arms. She also realized she was tied up to a chair, hands behind her back and the back of the chair she was sitting in in-between her back and arms. There was tape on her mouth as well. She had a bad taste and smell that was lingering in her mouth and nose. And she was wondering just how long she had been out. A few hours? A day? A week?

"Yeah, I get it… No she hasn't woken up yet… Why the fuck would we do something like that?...No, we'll deliver on time." She hears a man speaking angrily, pauses in between as he listens to whoever he was talking to then the snap of a phone closing. Heavy footfalls come closer and stop right in front of her and the man sighs, clothing shifting as he moves. "Well little one, be happy we were given orders to not touch you." She could smell his rancid breath and flinches as he pats the left side of her face with a hand. He rests the same hand on her face, gripping the upper corner of the tape. "Got any last words girly?" He questions and pulls the tape off enough for her to talk.

"Yeah… You're in deep shit." She says. His hand is removed from her face and he slaps her hard enough to bust her lip. The coppery tang of her blood negates the bad taste in her mouth. He replaces the tape, pats her face one more time, and walks away. Panic was still gripping her heart but she fought through it enough to think about her situation. She knew now that she had been kidnapped. She was worried about the guys, she didn't know if they had been hurt or even killed. Everyone had been so stressed out that they hadn't woke up like she did to the noises.

'_Guys, I hope you're alright…'_ She thinks, swallowing the blood and saliva in her mouth. She tries to even out her breathing so she would hyperventilate, that would be bad. An unknown amount of time later (she knew it had to be hours, she could hear ticking from a clock somewhere) the heavy footfalls return, and the guy wasn't alone. She counted atleast 4 more people with him and they were laughing.

"Well girly, we talked it over and realized that while we couldn't have our… _**normal**_," she could hear the sneer in his voice and the laughter of the people with him, "fun, we figured we could still have a form of it." As he was talking someone cuts her bindings, freeing her hands and feet but redoing her hands in front of her, and then she is hit across the face so hard her chair tips back and falls, taking her with it. Suddenly, feet and hands were hitting and kicking her without warning and she tries to curl into a ball to escape it whimpering.

"Sir! We have a- AAAHHH!" A voice chokes out, ending in a gurgling scream. The hands and feet stop and she curls up tighter in an attempt to be a smaller target. She could hear yelling and gun fire, the smell acidic and causing bile to want to climb up her throat. Instead, someone yanks her to her feet and forces her to run blind. The voice yelling at the people around her alerted her to the fact that it was the same man who had hit her first. He keeps her running, pulling her up when her feet trip. She would run into things with her hips, legs, and bare feet as they would turn corners. She could feel the tears leaking from her eyes, soaking whatever was keeping her blind. The man stops and she hears a heavy door open and feels sunlight on her body. He forces her to move quickly, not run anymore, a short distance away and stop once more. This time she hears a van door open and she was shoved inside with the door closing afterwards.

"Shit!" The strange man yells and she jerks as gunfire sounds out behind the door. She lays still, unwilling to move out of fear when the door is pulled open once more and a voice gives a sigh of relief; whoever it was pulls the tape off her mouth and she begins to breath heavy in fear, softly sobbing as she expected something else to happen to her.

"Sh, sh, sh… It's me, it's Alex." The person says softly, taking her face in his hands. She releases a shuddering, sobbing breath, leaning into his hands and he picks her up bridal style. He doesn't remove the blind fold from her eyes, instead he continues to whisper to her; telling her everything was fine, they were fine, all of them were there to save her, he was there to save her. She clutched him as closely as she could with her wrists still bound together. She hears other people give out breaths of relief as she comes into view with Alex.

She was shaking uncontrollably, her body positively vibrating in fear and shock. She is carried to a vehicle and passed off to Leo who continues to give her words of encouragement on doing a good job and that she was safe. Her shaking begins to wane as Alex gets in beside her, she could tell because he was so warm but he was shaking too. She didn't want to know why though. She wanted to forget everything.

The engine starts and she clings closer to Leo who strokes her hair, arms, and back in a soothing manner. "Hey, Megan. I'm gunna cut off the tape on your arms alright?" Des questions softly, gently taking her wrists in hand. She nods, unsure if she could keep her voice steady, and she not only hears the tape being cut but feels it as well. The pieces were removed as gently as possible and then she slowly removes the blindfold. Her vision was shot, blurry and disoriented, but she could make out the people around her. She, Leo, and Alex were in the back seat of the expedition; Des and Malik in the two middle seats, Ezio sitting on the floor between them, leaving Shaun and Altair up in the front seats. The tears start again, as she realizes that every one of them had relieved expressions on their faces.

* * *

They stop at a motel several hours later, only because it was already late and they wanted to check the girl over. Des had gotten out and got two double rooms, paying cash, and returns with the room numbers and keys. When they get in the rooms, Megan immediately goes into the bathroom and locks the door behind her. She starts up the shower, the scalding water symbolically washing away all the things that had happened. She sat in the tub with the water cascading down on her until it ran cold. Only then did she get out and take the large fluffy white towel and wrapped it around her body. She didn't want to wear the clothing she had, felt that there was something evil to do with them now. The only article she puts back on was her underwear. She walks out into the room and Alex pulls her over to him, taking note of all the bruises he could see and all those that would show up in a few days.

She had a few cuts on her arms, shallow ones at that. Other than that she was fine, the real problem was how was she dealing with it emotionally?

"Are you ok?" Malik questions as Alex puts his jacket over her shoulders, forcing her to sit on the bed beside him. She was still shaking but not near as violently as before.

"I.. I think so." She answers as she looks at him. Her eyes weren't vacant, they were alert; like she was dealing with it rather well.

"We were worried." Desmond gives the girl a soft, sincere smile.

"Oh hell, we were going out of our fucking minds when we realized you were gone." Shaun says, crossing his arms over his chest. Altair and Ezio nod, giving small smiles of their own to the girl. She looks each of them in the face, realizing that they were being truthful.

She fights the rather cynical smile coming onto her own lips. "What, couldn't live a day without me?"

They all roll their eyes at her, real smiles breaking through at her rather normal behavior. They would have to wait and see just how much this affected her but for now, they were glad she was safe with them.

* * *

"She's asleep now." Des says, coming out of the room that the Megan and Alex were sharing for the time being. They would send in someone else to help keep watch. She had relieved what she could remember when she woke up, stressing that nothing else had happened other than being hit and kicked. The wounds were all superficial, to fade away in a week or so. It was more the emotional stress that was causing worry, she was filing it away all too well.

"Good." Ezio answers him, a harsh look upon his face. They had decided, once they realized she was fighting to stay awake, that they would take turns watching at night. Alex would stay with her as he had been, only more vigilant. It was just strange that suddenly the girl would be taken but not them. She had no enemies, she wasn't really a people person per say. She had befriended them because they had allowed it. She didn't ask questions they weren't comfortable with telling her the answer to and when they had said something that she would find interesting and them willing to talk, she would only use the information for a story, having them help her with twisting it into a fantasy. She never said anything horrible to say to them and if she did, it was always as a joke or a barb to get them out of a funk as she would put it. But right now, she needed them even if she didn't realize it. They found themselves responsible for allowing this to happen to her.

"I'll take first watch." Altair says, not allowing anyone else a chance. He felt he deserved the most blame, his room was beside the stairs and thus the last room she would have passed. He climbs onto the railing then climbs up onto the roof, snow falling in his wake. They made sure to check on the Arab every 45 minutes to an hour and a half to make sure he didn't freeze to death. After a deliberation Des was next on watch, taking over for the man at midnight and would stay there till morning. Malik enters the room with Alex and Megan, finding the girl to be virtually fused to the other man but were both sitting against the headboard. Alex opens his eyes, looking first to the girl then to him.

"Altair is taking first watch. It would be best if you stayed here with her. After what you did back there, I do not think anyone would be able to get through you to her." Malik could still see the man taking out the first wave, being riddled with bullets but not fazed in the least. He had killed or disarmed many of them, leaving the rest to be taken care of by the Assassins once he saw Megan being dragged out to the back door. His weapons were nigh unstoppable, slicing through both bodies and metal as if they were air. In a way Malik was glad she had brought the man out of whatever he was plagued with because Malik knew if it came to a fight between them and him, he would win every time and not for lack of trying on their part but more because he was made for war.

"Agreed." Alex affirms in his gravelly voice, once more hunkering down and closing his eyes. Malik turn off the light and lays down on the other bed that was closest to the door. He didn't know if he would be able to sleep for a while after the brutality of what they had witnessed being used against the girl. She couldn't have hurt any of those men, she was smaller and weaker not to mention tied up and blindfolded. He releases a sigh, willing the stress to leave his body. It was times like this he wished he still had his other arm, didn't have this accursed handicap. Maybe he could have done something more to help.

* * *

Ezio closes the door after him, Shaun and Desmond having entered before him. There was two cots lying against the wall, looking all to inviting. But none of them were tired, would not be until they returned home… Megan's house. Startled, Ezio realizes they had been referring to the place as home, all of them. As for why, the reasons were all different. Every time he looked at Megan, he was woefully reminded of his own sister Claudia. He had to wonder if she and their mother realized he was gone. Did he stop existing once he had come here? Had Leonardo? Or did they think he had died with his father and brothers now? The questions would sometimes keep him up at night, rattling around his brain with nowhere to go.

"Leonardo, mio amico, do you ever wonder what happened to us?" He questions as he sits on the cot in front of the bed the painter was occupying. Leonardo hmm's like he always does when a question vexes him. Desmond and Shaun mirror him and Leo with Desmond on the bed and Shaun on the cot. He had a problem when they had first met, their appearances so alike it was mystifying.

"I do not know, nor do I want to. We must have come here for a reason. That reason has not presented itself yet I believe." He answers him giving a shrug as an afterthought. The same questions plagued all of them, but they knew that if it was possible for them to return they would need to be patient. They, at first, had only wanted to give the girl vague information about themselves. But in as short a time as possible, she had somehow wormed her way into their souls. They cared for her as a younger sister, she was young and naïve to a fault. But it was that she never pretended to be different with any of them. She was who she was; silly, smart, worldly, soulful, loving, a friend. None of the Assassins had realized it until it was too late but they did not care. She was their sister, if not of blood then of the heart.

"I have to side with Leo on this. What will be, will be." Desmond says, flopping back and covering up with the blanket on the bed. If they did sleep, it would be light.

* * *

I have realized that I have an unholy liking for causing pain, past and present, to my oc's. Any story I have made, even the one's I haven't posted on here, have some form of trauma inflicted upon them. But anyways, I know I posted last night but my brain decided that today would be a great day to get another chapter out. And I hope I did alright with it. Everything I put up will mostly be from Megan's point of view, her thoughts on everything and what she notices. I tried to do the same with the guys and I don't know if it was a pass or fail. Please let me know what you think.

I wanna thank MoonlitMeeting, Pheonix-164, and Pauchalina for the reviews. If you're willing to keep up with my insanity, I comemorate you. And I wanna thank all of you who have read the story thus far.

Also, Pheonix-164 gave me the idea for the chapter. I didn't follow it completely but definitely got inspired by the suggestion.

I have the plot thought of and the ending generalized. I know how many chapters as well, I'm gunna shoot for 50 and then the epilogue. They will all be named after Linkin Park songs, even if they do not have anything to do with the chapter itself.

I also wanna say that where Megan is from, the Assassin series and PROTOTYPE one do not exist. Nobody knows who these people are, so there is no fan base to run rabid all over their asses. Though I might make an outtakes series for this or just something funny. But not until the story is finished will I do so. I tend to have a terrible case of procrastination when I get more than one project under my belt when it comes to writing.

As always, please e-mail or pm or review. If you have questions but do not have an account here, I do accept guest reviews and will answer them at the end of the next chapter or in an e-mail. My e-mail is on my page if you need it. And I hadn't realized I had my guest filter off, but that has been resolved. Any negative reviews will be ignored and any threats to report as well. Thank you!


	6. Points of Authority

Desmond yawns as he descends down the stairs, ready for a cup of coffee and some food before everyone else managed to wake up and ruin the quiet of the morning. Unfortunately someone had beaten him down first, the person being Megan. She was dressed in a black tank top and purple flannel pants, a steaming mug of hot chocolate sitting beside her on the bar counter. He pauses in surprise thinking over if he should go upstairs and put a shirt on, the house had been hot last night and he was sure he hadn't been the only one to do so. She pauses in her thinking when she notices his presence.

"Oh morning." She greets softly, returning to looking inside of her cup for whatever answers she was looking for. She gives a big sigh before taking a drink of the rich chocolate. If her house was stocked of one thing, it was hot chocolate. Her eyes had large purple bags under them and her skin was paler than before.

"Yeah… What're you doing up?" He questions. It had been two weeks since her kidnapping and she had been rather reserved from them. Ezio had been making threats of tickling the woman to death if he had to deal with her being mopey any longer, Altair agreeing with him. It just didn't seem right for their happy-go-lucky hostess to be so depressed.

"Couldn't sleep." Was her response, a shrug following afterwards. Des gives a slow nod of his head. Something was bothering her.

"You know, you can talk to any of us. We'll listen… and help as best we, uh, can." He fumbles out, clearing his throat a few times through the sentences and scratches the back of his head. This was something for women not men. But all there were were men in her home and they would have to deal with it, hopefully she wouldn't burst into tears or something. That would be horrible.

"I know…" She says in a small voice. Something about the kidnapping had struck her as odd, with what she knew of the men she had figured they would have been the one's taken or killed or something. While she did know a little, she knew that they still had plenty of things kept from her just as she did from them. Everyone was entitled to secrets and if they wished to indulge them to another was that person's choice. Her's were still to raw to deal with on her own let alone allowing another soul to try to help her along. She sighs once more, eyes cutting to Des as he puts his hand down and stands before her awkwardly. She grins inwardly, her outside remaining blank. She wasn't bothered by half-nakedness, her brothers had run around that way near all her life and now she had Alex doing the same thing. Except that he slept in his boxers, she even had a favorite pair that he seemed to always wear to bed; they were orange with white clouds and yellow rubber duckies. She fights the giggle that was caused by the mental image threatening to break through her stoic visage.

"…you want something to eat?" He questions after a moment. She quirks a brow.

"I say all of you are trying to get me fat and round." She rolls her eyes as the smile breaks her mask, a giggle escaping as well when he grunts.

* * *

Alex wakes up alone. Somehow, this was becoming normal and he did not like it. Hell, he was wearing the god forsaken boxers she liked! He vehemently denied that they were growing on him the more he wore them, even to himself. He was beginning to miss her small body curled up against him, seeking the heat his body gave off constantly. Des made a joke the other day that she was only doing it because he was a living space heater. He would have ripped off the Assassin's head had he not been thinking the same when he realized the woman had fallen asleep against him while watching AFV.

She had been having a hard time sleeping at night; waking up at odd times sitting up and looking around, her breathing hard and labored. She would either flop back onto the bed and curl up into a little ball, shaking, or leave the room and go downstairs to bring up a cup of chocolate and watching TV until she managed to fall asleep again. She was also waking up earlier, sitting in the bed until she figured he was awake. Thing was, she was keeping him up. Her poor nights of no sleep were worrying him and the others.

The man pulls on a pair of pajama bottoms Megan had gotten him, red and black plaid, and goes downstairs to hear her and Des laughing. Her appearance was still poor but her mood was only slightly brighter. It would probably never have the same brilliance as it did before she was taken but it could still extraordinary. He felt something inside flare up at the look she was giving the man, something dark and dangerous. It was the same feeling that had come forward when he saw those creatures beating her and then the leader taking off with her. He had seen red when she was shoved into the van and he was grateful she couldn't see what he had done to him, or really what he had left of him. Consuming the dead angered him further, the thoughts cruel. They weren't men but monsters. In a way, he wondered what that made him.

She turns to him, always seeming to know when he was around even if he made no noise. She gives him a blinding smile before greeting him warmly, Des jumping when he returned the salutation and takes the seat beside her. She turns back to Des with a frown.

"Why are you shirtless?"

Desmond nearly spits out the coffee he was drinking, choking down what he did manage to swallow only to get stuck in his throat. "It-it got hot last night."

She blinks a few times before her little mouth makes an 'o' in understanding, nodding her head slowly. "That makes sense." She takes a drink before frowning down at her cup. "Damn, it's empty." She sets it down with a clink and a huff. Des begins to chuckle as he takes the cup and puts it in the sink, turning the tap on hot to make sure nothing was stuck inside it. Afterwards he pulls two mugs down from the cabinet and sets them in front of the two, grabs the coffee pot and pours some in. Sugar and creamer were already out on the counter so Megan scoops a few spoonfuls into the hot liquid before adding the creamer to get it to her liking. Alex ignores both, taking a drink of the bitter liquid, before taking a closer look at the girl as she takes a drink of her own coffee. She was a little thinner than she was two weeks ago, her appetite having disappeared for a few days after her ordeal; paler, her eyes had been a little duller as well and the bags under them weren't helping any. He catches Des' frown at her appearance before it disappears when her cup makes contact with the counter. "I wonder if the others are like the two of you." She mumbles turning to the stairs before taking off to them, skidding around the post at the bottom, and then going up two at a time. They hear doors open along with her shouting 'GOOD MORNING KRUSTY CREW!' before moving on to the next and repeating 5 times.

She was howling with laughter as she makes her way down the stairs, slipping and sliding down the rest on her butt, and running to where the other two were waiting both with eyebrows raised. And then the rest come down, sounding like a herd of elephants, various states of undress and anger apparent. The girl was leaned over, gasping for breath from both running and laughing as hard as she was.

"What has gotten into that head of yours?!" Malik raises his voice, sleep tinting the edges, as he huffs. Ezio, Altair, and Shaun nod in agreement. She takes one look at them before bursting into laughter once more, this time her legs unable to support herself, and rolls on the ground holding onto her middle. Des and Alex were fighting not to join her on the ground, Alex doing alright but Des was a hair's breath away from joining. Malik was wearing purple boxers with kittens on them; Ezio had on white with little red hearts, Altair wore pink ones, Leo wore some that were a pale yellow, but Shaun, oh, Shaun wore green with white tighty whities*. Des soon joins the girl when she begins to snort, both unable to speak. He leaned over the counter, head down, laughing and body shaking.

"Sh-sh-SHAUN!" She manages to crow out, once more dissolving into her laughing fit. Said Brit turn red when everyone looks at him and then his choice of attire, before bolting back up the stairs when the rest begin to grin. Even Altair was cracking, a wide smile breaking out over his face. Finally Megan regains control, groaning as her sides hurt, sitting up on her elbows to take in the rest of them. "Ezio and Leo I get but the rest of you, not so much." She cocks her head to the side before pulling herself up with Alex's help. The 4 roll their eyes before following their predecessor up the stairs to put on clothes. Megan gets up in the chair behind Alex and puts her head down on the table, every so often giving a little giggle.

"I think you lost your mind." Des says with a shake of his head. She peeks up at his with a large smile on her face, one that reached her eyes.

"That happened a long time ago." She retorts, sitting up and grabbing her coffee from over Alex's arms and taking a drink then giving a warm sigh. She wasn't hungry so when Des went to hand her a plate of food she waved it off. "You really are trying to get me fat." Was her remark as she laughed. When Shaun made it back downstairs, now fully clothed and still a little red faced, he grabs a cup and makes himself a cup of tea. She had to wonder what was with the British and their tea. Course she hadn't noticed the last time they went to town for food that he had… Her brain stops, counts back and then she groans loudly, head dropping with a 'thump' to the table. By this point the rest of the men had made their way downstairs, either with pajama pants , with or without a shirt, or fully dressed. Scratch that, Leo was the only one dressed besides Shaun. She gives out another loud groan. "Shiiiiitttt."

"What is wrong?" Leo questions, fork paused mid-air as he was about to take a bite. Her head snaps up and she looks around at them. Ezio had bacon hanging out of his mouth, Altair and Malik looking at the descendent in disgust before their attention when to her. Her face becomes a little red at whatever was on her mind.

"I… have to go to town."

"OH! Excellent, who is going with you?" This simple question made her face even redder.

"No one. No men, this is something I have to go to alone." And under her breath she adds, "it's embarrassing enough by myself." She takes her coffee, gets out of her seat, then goes upstairs; leaving all 7 men confused.

"….What?" All of them collectively agree on.

* * *

When Megan finally comes back down the stairs she was wearing a large gray shirt that hung off of her left shoulder and showed a dark purple tank under, slightly loose fitting jeans and a pair of violet converses. She had Alex's jacket over her left arm and she puts it on before grabbing her car's keys and leaving. Des watched from her study's window before joining the rest in the living room, all sitting around bored.

"Now what?" Malik questions his head falling back on the couch. Altair had claimed the other one for himself, stretching out across it and taking a nap. One, it was to cold to go outside and train; and two, the snow was to deep. Alex was still sitting on the bar stool with another cup of coffee, a new pot of which was slowly starting to percolate. Ezio and Leo were getting a fire started and fighting over who was going to light the newspaper like children. Shaun had hijacked the woman's laptop once more, this time just lazily surfing the web. Des flops down beside the one armed man with a groan following.

It was quiet for a little while, no one sure of what they could do. Certain things were off limits, nothing really other than bobbles or certain books that she was reading at the time, but other than that they had free rein.

"Could go watch TV on the big one." Altair comments, turning over with a yawn. The big TV was in Megan's, well her's and Alex's seeing as the man never seemed to spend time in his own, room and while she didn't mind, she didn't approve either. Not only that, it took weeks to get the older four to stop calling it the moving box.

"Nothing on at this time of day other than Maury." Shaun remarks, a hint of disgust in his voice.

"How about we raid those copy paper boxes?" Everyone looks over to Des in surprise. He gives a shrug before continuing. "Been wondering what's in them since she pulled them out a few months ago after we got here. She wouldn't let anyone read them." Mulling this information over they all had to agree that the curiosity was in all of them, eating slowly away at their resolve to find out. With accompanying shrugs four of them head into her study and grab a box each to take into the living room.

* * *

"Hey guys, I'm back!" Megan calls out, kicking the door shut with her foot seeing as her arms were loaded with as much junk food as she could carry. _'And feeling somewhat violated.'_ She adds sarcastically in her head, a snort of laughter breaking through. No noise that she could hear, not even a whisper, which surprises her. If she had left on her own normally when she got back at least Des and Leo would be there to greet her, or in the odd case, Malik and Ezio joining them.

This actually worried her. What if, what if they were able to go home? Then she would be alone again, utterly alone. Sure she would have her memories but this would just be her family again. She didn't know if she could handle something like that once more, didn't know if her heart could handle breaking more than it already had. She quickly sets the bags of food down then takes off upstairs, her shoes slick from the melted snow so she slid around the banister to go up. She could hear whispering from Des's room and releases the breathe she had been holding but she begins to wonder what exactly they were doing. She didn't want to walk in on them comparing sizes or something else like that.

Her face heats up at the thought and she has to fight the sudden girly giggle that wanted to escape. She couldn't deny that she was curious about it though, she was a woman after all and lived with the best examples of the male gender she had ever seen. Especially after this morning. And with that thought, an idiotic grin breaks out over her face; both from the rather wonderful view she had received and the way she had awoken them.

Quietly, ankles wobbling from the effort, she stalks over to the door to find that it was still open a crack; large enough for her to see through and hear better. Hiding by the door she listens to them.

After a few minutes her eyes widen and she flings the door open, Altair's mouth hanging open and the word dying on his lips that he had been reading off the paper held in his hands. Every one of them was in the same manner, not speaking just yet but the paper's held tightly in hand. Eyes were darting around, worry evident that they had done something wrong. Her face turns red in embarrassment. "What are you doing?"

"Err… reading?" Alex answers as a question, flinching when her eyes turn to him. This was stupid; very, very stupid of them to have done. And by the way everyone else was trying to avoid her gaze, they were thinking the same thing. She really didn't hide things from them unless it was something they didn't need to know about.

Her eyes then turn to the ground as she scuffs her shoe across the wooden floors, her arms behind her back and her posture submissive. "…What did- what did you think of them?" Her voice was small and quiet.

The men all blink in surprise.

"Bloody brilliant I'll say." Shaun answers, giving a cocky grin at her.

"Impressive." Malik adds.

"Extraordinary!" Leo practically yells out, a huge smile on his face.

"_Molto bello_." Ezio praises with a nod of his head.

"Wonderful." Des gives a smile to the girl.

"Stunning." Altair's lips quirk as if he was trying to fight a smile.

Alex gets up, looking between the papers and the girl. The word on the pages had a flow that seemed to speak to him, call to something within himself, as soothing as cool water on a burn. With each praise she was given her face started to turn pink. "Beautiful."

She keeps her head down for a few minutes, the men unsure what was going on before she gives a sigh and walks in; taking the papers from Altair's hands seeing as he was the closest to her. She flips through a few of the pages ahead of where he had been. " I wrote all of these when I was a freshman in high school."

"WHEN YOU WERE 15!" Des and Shaun cry out, every one of their eyes widening.

"Yeah, so?"

* * *

"Ok, tell us why you had to go to town all on your little lonesome?" Des questions, looking up at Megan who was lying down across the foot of her bed. She had explained to them she had been published since she was a freshman when she had won an award for a short story in a competition. They talked about her life and how she had graduated two years later then moved up here on her own.

They had started a drinking game for no reason other than Ezio had claimed that he could hold his liquor better than Des and somehow, they all ended up playing a game. Watching Ridiculousness, they started to drink every time that Rob would repeatedly say 'stop, stop, stop' they would get a drink of their beers. Des had at first made fun of Megan drinking Smirnoff instead of the Buds she had gotten them. Once she explained that she disliked the taste, and smacked the man on the head with a pillow, they had returned to the game, the older men taking a little time to get used to the taste. More than once Ezio had complained about wanting wine and he received the same treatment as Des.

"Drink!" She calls and they all upturn the bottles. When they finish she looks at her now empty bottle and grabs a new one seeing as they were beside Des. Behind her sat Malik and Alex while Shaun, Des, Leo, Ezio, and Altair were on the floor against the foot of the bed. Why were they on the floor? Ro-sham-bo. "I had an appointment."

"With?"

"Doctor of female parts." Was her answer, causing the men to all spit out the beer they had just taken a drink of. She had timed it perfectly because Rob had repeated the word and they weren't paying attention to him, just enough to know when to get a drink. She takes a swig of her new bottle. "Get that shit on my bed and I will not be happy camper." Her body was warm from the alcohol. It was one of the reasons she drank, though she hadn't been doing so much of it since Alex had commandeered half of her bed. God she hoped she didn't make a fool of herself tonight. She tended to get cuddly when she got drunk. Malik rolls his eyes but nods to her.

"That… that wasn't what I wanted to hear." Shaun says, a shiver running up his spine. Twenty minutes later Megan realizes that both Des and Ezio had fallen asleep. She gains a wicked grin, crawling over Alex to the side table and getting out a black sharpie. Instantly both Alex and Shaun realize what she was going to do. And Shaun wanted to help. The two share the marker and even find out that Altair had fallen asleep as well

'_Lightweights.'_ Megan thinks, giggling inside her head but fighting the giggles on the outside. She waves over Malik and hands him the sharpie to join in. Leo just smiles as Malik begins write things like novice and weakling and other things in Arabic she was sure were very derogatory. Ezio had a Mario mustache and eyes on his eyelids that were crossed, she had even scrawled weirdo on his forehead. Shaun had put things like a doodle of a tongue sticking out, fatso, and a few other things as well. All three of them were fighting not to laugh out, instead Malik and Shaun and Leo help stand they three up, who waken just enough to realize they were moving, and take them out of the room. Now alone, Alex shuts off the television and Megan crawls under the blankets after putting the beers away in her mini fridge. She would have to remember to get them out in the morning but for now they were fine.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Alex questions after she curls up against him.

"No. But it's nothing that can be helped. I'm just curious as to why I was taken. I'm a nobody, I even write under an alias. I don't want people to know who I am, just appreciate what I can give them." She says, knowing what he was talking about. She was sad but this drinking binge was what she needed to get over it. She had tried to do so without getting drunk but this just seemed to be helpful.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!" Screeches three voice simultaneously, and if there were any people left sleeping they weren't now. Megan blinks tiredly, opening the door to her room right as it was about to be thrown open. In front of her stood Altair, Ezio, and Desmond; all three very angry. She couldn't blame them with what was written and drawn on their faces. Some of it was smudged from them having moved around in their sleep but most was still readable. Megan rolls her eyes and closes her door once more, locking it. Alex looks at her blearily.

"Go back to bed." She says with a huge yawn and gets in as well, returning to her previous position against him. Alex shrugs and wraps an arm around her waist to pull her back against his chest. He lets out a sigh, closing his eyes to the grumbling he could hear past the door.

* * *

Alright new chappy! Yay. This one actually was kind of hard to think of. And my computer decided to be retarded and deleted what I had been working on before by turning off to do an update. -grumbles-

Anyways, I wanna thank Raychaell Dionzeros and my newest reviewie: Malaika Al-Sayf! Hope you both enjoy the newest chapter!

I also do not suggest doing two shots of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum unless you want your jaw to ache and drool like crazy for 5 minutes afterwards.

As always, if you wanna let me know what you think of the story please e-mail me (which is on my homepage-thingy) or review or pm me. Thanks!


	7. Hit the Floor

Someone was shaking her. She flails her arm weakly, coughing afterwards. She was sick dammit and needed sleep, didn't they know that. The person sighs, annoyed, and continues to shake her. "Lemme alone…" She whines, throat raw and scratchy.

"You need to take the medicine." Comes the reply in a British accent, sounding off. She gives a halfhearted groan and rolls over, pulling the covers over her head. The medicine was gross. "It's grape flavored." He tries to bribe her with, hoping she wouldn't be difficult.

She pulls the covers off her head, cheeks red from the fever and glares at him and his medical mask covered face. "It's not grape flavored. I don't think the people who made that have _**ever**_ tasted a grape. It tastes like death." She sits up quickly with a hacking cough eventually flopping back down on the bed. Her eyes roll back to Shaun who holds the little measuring cup to her filled with the sticky liquid. "Fine, give me the death tasting crap."

"Good." She swipes it from his hand and downs it quickly, gagging afterwards. He takes the cup back, nods, and exits the room. Shaun and Alex were the only ones to have missed catching the flu. It was humorous at first because Desmond had been whinny and so had Altair and Ezio, Malik had been giving little hints about not feeling well either, and Leo, oh Leo, was possibly the worst of them all. Shaun was saving him for last when it came to giving them medicine. He really didn't need the headache prior to giving everyone else their medicine.

How the 6 idiots got sick was rather funny, or would be once they all got over it. Megan had decided that they were going to go on a trip to Seattle and since it wasn't more than a few hours away she had gotten a suite/apartment and the first thing she decides to do: push all those who were at the edge of the ocean in it. With it still being rather cold, it wasn't very smart of an idea. May wasn't to bad weather wise, but it was still to cold to go and play in the ocean.

* * *

Megan wanted Alex in the bed, she was cold and the comforter wasn't keeping her warm enough. She kind of regretted getting everyone sick but after Ezio had been singing the entire trip up to Seattle, well payback was awesome. She just forgot how wimpy men were when they got sick. Oh, Alty and Mal were doing a damn good job of not showing; but Ezio and Leo, they were another story all together. They didn't care about pretending they weren't sick, they enjoyed having someone wait on them hand and foot. Megan sits back up, looking around for her space heater. The man had disappeared last night and hadn't returned. She wasn't really worried about him but she didn't want anything to happen. Then she heads to the bathroom.

Coming back out she grabs the remote she had flung by the bathroom earlier when she couldn't find anything to watch, which annoyed her, and looks up to find that her bed was full. She stops, sniffling, and begins to crack up before flinging herself into the fray of bodies, right in the middle of Ezio and Alty. No one was touching but the fact that her California king was full made her happy. She turns the TV on and puts it on _'I Shouldn't Be Alive'_ on animal planet and cuddles down into the bed. Eventually all of them fall asleep from the medicine Shaun had forced down their throats.

They remained that way, in her room and bed, for the 3 days they were sick and once they had gotten better they were up and out of the room regardless of if they still were coughing or sneezing at odd moments. Alex had returned an hour after she had fallen asleep and had stared for 5 minutes at the change of sleeping arrangements. He understood that they were sick and it'd be better they were quarantined to one room but he hadn't expected it to be his and Megan's. So he was forced to sleep in the living room and even falling asleep had been hard. He was already used to Megan curling up against him and it was strange that she wasn't.

But now that they were all better, Megan had decided to drag them all over the place. Like the zoo, aquarium, downtown, even the Space Needle; though she stayed inside while the rest went out to look around on the observation deck. She wasn't a fan of heights; so, yeah, fuck that. Instead she hung around inside the restaurant eating Tiramisu and coffee, and whatever breakfast thing she wanted. The $45 flat was a little hard to swallow at first but when she began to eat, she really couldn't complain about it. Alex hung around outside for a little while but once Des and Ezzy (oh hell she has him calling them that too) decide to see how long it took to run around the deck and then turned it into a race, he wanted to escape the sheer stupidity the two were able to produce. He sat with her inside the restaurant, having an intelligent conversation. He was surprised just how much she knew about things, but figured that she would have to do research on anything to make sure she was accurate when she put the theoretical pen to paper.

When the retards finally decided that they couldn't breathe the thin air anymore, well that and Malik ended up getting a nose bleed, Megan made sure to go shopping at some rather interesting boutiques, hiding from the rest when she wanted to get something particular before going back to the hotel. It was the last night there and Megan had plans to leave with happy memories. So she locked her bedroom door as soon as they returned, not even letting Alex in when he claimed he wanted to take a nap. It took 3 hours but she was done.

She was wearing a small one shoulder slinky red dress with black trim that ended not even mid thigh; it hugged her curves and not only showed her tiny waist but her other rather memorable assets, black square bracelets, and black and red strappy high heels. She had her hair down but the ringlets were now full blown curls, large and luscious, and she had makeup on; making her blue green eyes dark and smoky and the green showing more than the blue. She was feeling… sexy and she wanted to have fun.

She walked out, all the men sitting on the couch or chair in front of the big screen and their backs to her. She clears her throat and poses as they turn around, mouths falling open and eyes bugging out; hell, Shaun's glasses fell off his face!

"W-where," Ezio's voice hits a high note and he swallows the pool of saliva wanting to escape, "where are you going looking like that may I ask?"

She gives then what she could only hope was a saucy smile and, judging by the way all of them were turning redder than tomatoes, it was and was working. "Out." Was her singular response. She walks over to the front door, grabs her purse and fishes out her ID before putting it and her credit card in her _'treasure trove'_. She turns back to the men, who were all acting like a pack of wild animals that hadn't seen a female in their entire lives, and waves as she puts on her new jacket and going out the door. "Have fun and don't wait up for me." She tells them then closes it.

She was going to have fun, why couldn't they?

* * *

"Where is Megan and who the hell was _**that**_?!" Desmond says, his voice cracking like a pubescent teens at the end.

"You have asked the million dollar question my friend." Shaun answers. None of them were expecting… _That_! Megan was sweet and innocent and tough and… and…

But this Megan, holy shit! She was the 20 on the bombshell scale men fantasized about getting with! AND SHE LIVED WITH THEM!

"I don't know what that was about but, I do not want her to be out there where other men are… imagining about her." Altair says, clearing his throat. He and Malik still didn't understand much about this modern world but he did know the minds of men and he doubted they had changed at all since his time.

"I agree; it would be best for us to retrieve her and have her remain with us."

"Please, she's fine! Probably wanted some time away from us guys. Ya know, a little me time?" Desmond says, leaning back into his chair and acting as if he had recovered. Granted, he hadn't and was thinking of everything but the woman who rather loudly screamed at them with the word _'SMEX'_. Yes, he was putting the 'm' in the word because it on its own just wasn't enough.

"I don't know…" Ezio couldn't believe he was agreeing with the old man but, that girl was his second little sister. Desmond waves the older two Assassins off, flipping through the channels to find something to watch.

* * *

'_Oh hell, I don't think I've been this drunk since… Shit, I can't even remember!'_ Megan thinks, giggling as she stumbles into the elevator. She was so sad that the clubs were closed and wanted to keep dancing and drinking. She still had her wits about her, granted they were rather… gone. As the doors close on her she pushes the correct button and drops her shoes on the floor, leaning into the corner to keep upright. She couldn't stop laughing at herself, the copious amount of alcohol in her system was making her feel euphoria and she didn't want it to end anytime soon.

In fact, she felt downright reckless.

The doors open to her floor and, she staggers as she retrieves her shoes, heads to her room. She puts the keycard in, waits till the light turns green, pulls the card out, and opens the door. The lights were off and the room was dark, what did she expect at 4 in the morning? She drops her shoes by the door and wobbles to her room, biting back the pained cry as she hits her hip on a table but then giggles quietly as she continues on. She opens her door and spots the large lump lying in bed. Inhibition was waving wildly for her attention but Drunken Ideas had effectively quieted him down by a low blow to the stomach. She stalks to the opposite side, the side that wasn't her's, and finds Alex asleep on his side. He was probably in his normal sleeping attire, which meant nothing but his boxers. She could more than handle that, in fact, she wanted it.

Her hand ghosts over his face, fingers running through his short curly hair, as she leans down. Her lips meet his. It takes a moment before he responds and her eyes flutter close when she feels his hands go to the back of her head and snake around her waist, pulling her down on top of him. He was damn forceful, and the absolute scent of man was overpowering.

He pulls away; ignoring her rather weak attempts at returning those sensual lips to hers, and looks down at her. He was panting for breathe, low and shallow, and his eyes were cloudy from both sleep and lust. She rather liked this look on him. She gives him a _'come hither'_ look, one that took all his strength to not follow, and he sits up.

'_What the hell is with her and her sex pot attitude right now?'_ He questions himself as she pouts, crossing her arms under her…. He decides looking at her face was better. And safer. "Can I ask what prompted this?"

"No." She sits up too, looking at his face. He was damn gorgeous. "But continuing would be fun."

His eyes widen. "You're really drunk, aren't you?"

She gives a soft snort. "Of course."

He swallows the lump in his throat. "Why don't you go and take a shower?"

She rolls her eyes and scoots to get out of the bed, grabbing clothes from the dresser then heading to the bathroom, wobbling as she goes. She pauses at the door, looking back him with a downright sexy look. "You wanna come and… join me?"

He shakes his head in the negative, nearly giving himself whiplash. She shrugs and shuts the door behind her. He flops back onto the bed. He had a problem now and didn't quite know what to do with it. The problems name: Megan and the rather vivid fantasies he was now having.

And all he could think of was, _'atleast I'm still a man…'_

* * *

The trip home was... awkward. Megan could remember exactly what she did and, while she had no qualms about it, she didn't know how he felt. This morning was the first she had woken up not cuddled up against him and as soon as he knew she was awake, he was out of the room. The hangover was still kicking her in the head and the alcohol still in her system made her want to throw up. Preferably all over Ezzy and his smug smile. She could've sworn he just knew what had happened and that snide smile was to let her know he knew. Thank god they were just a few minutes away from the house.

Her brain stops, goes over the thought, and still comes up with an intelligent 'huh?'. When did she stop thinking of the place as her house and start thinking of it as the house. She gives herself a giddy smile inside; maybe having the guys around was a good thing. They were helping her get over her tragedy, and while she would never really forget, she would be able to be happy once more.

When they pull up to the house, they stare at it in surprise.

The front door was open wide, clothing strewn across the ground along with papers and books. Her eyes widen and she clambers to the middle seats. Leo holds onto her wrist, keeping her from moving, while the rest go inside. After several tense minutes Mal comes out with a sour but confused look on his face. Megan gets out of the expedition and walks up to the door, grabbing her clothing off the ground and hiding her unmentionables. While this confused her, she didn't want the guys to see any of them.

Heading in, she finds the rest of the house looking pretty much like the outside. There was clothing and books and food and even logs. Walking around the corner into the living room she finds that some of her shelves were destroyed. She wanted to cry. This was her home, these were her things. Her brothers had helped her to put them up!

Inhibition was keeping quiet while Sadness and Rage were yelling for her to react, which she does. The tears were leaking from her eyes. A sob tears out of her throat as she drops her clothes and races upstairs, seeing the carnage that was left behind as she goes into her room. She runs into her closet and tosses what clothes that hadn't left their hangers on the ground. She finds the only thing that she really cared about, a small black box with a removable lid. She clutches it to her chest, the sobs wracking her body.

The men watch her from just inside the door way as she cries. This wasn't their expertise. But those sobs were, for lack of better wording, heart wrenching. She was curled over the box and that was where they left her.

She was in her bed by herself. She locked the door after she found she couldn't cry anymore. The handle had turned a few times but other than that all was quiet. She hadn't even changed out of her clothes she had arrived in. All she could do was look at the box.

Shakily she takes the lid off and sets it to her left side. She pulls out the photos, carefully going through them slowly to bring forth the memories. Though they were happy ones, she couldn't help feeling like she wasn't doing her family right. Like she wasn't living the way they would have wanted her to. Halfway through them she stops and puts them back, closing the lid and putting it under her bed. She would feel like her home was safer if she didn't leave again for a while. This was insane. The second time someone had been in her home without her knowing. She was calling a home security place first thing in the morning.

With this and the embarrassment/horror/unknown feelings she had, she just wanted to forget this whole thing.

* * *

Four days later she was feeling a little better. Her emotions were in check and while she wasn't allowing Alex to share her room anymore, she was missing him and his comforting presence. Her door was open letting her hear everything that was going on. From the sounds of it Alty, Des, Mal, and Ezzy were fighting again. She rolls her eyes as they start yelling at one another in their native tongues; other than Des, she could only catch the few words they had taught her. She gets up, the large shirt hanging off her frame and nearly covering the shorts she wore. She goes down the stairs and then stops when she sees the humorous sight before her. Mal was on Alty's back with both Des and Ezzy on either leg like a group of children.

So be it.

She claps her hands loudly, drawing their attention to her. "Now children, tell me what the problem is." They scramble off of Alty and far enough away from one another. She raises an eyebrow as she realizes just those four were in the house. Where the other three were, she didn't know. They glare at one another. "Well?" She prompts.

"These buffoons were attempting to sneak out and leave me here." Malik answers after a few moments when he realizes that none of the others were going to answer.

"So?"

He frowns. "I will not be left here."

"With a girl?" The other brow rises when he nods in the affirmative. "How, pray tell, is that a 'bad thing'?" She questions as she cocks her hips to the right and rests her hands on them.

The other three realize just what she was getting at and were making a hasty retreat. They just weren't going to inform the one that was causing her ire. And what a fight it turned out to be, hitting 2 hours easily before Malik finally gave up and stalked away. Megan finds the three stooges were sitting on the other side of the bar with a bag of popcorn in front of each of them, watching the humorous spectacle.

* * *

Hours later, Megan was lying in bed. Alone. Completely alone.

Megan did not approve.

She frowns, wondering just why her bed buddy had abandoned her. It couldn't have been over the make out session they had, she was DRUNK! And from all accounts, he had enjoyed it too! She gets up, giving an indignant huff, grabs her favorite pillow (which just so happened to be the one Alex slept on), and heads out of her room and over to his. She doesn't even bother with knocking, just opens the door and closes it behind her. He sat up in bed, half asleep, icy blue eyes gazing around in confusion. She climbs over him, puts the pillow down and crawls under the covers to snuggle up with him. He stiffens at first but slowly relaxes.

"Can I ask." She whispers to him.

"Ask what?" He answers back to her in a whisper.

"Why you left me alone?" Her voice could barely be termed a whisper. In a way, he was glad his hearing was above par but wished that it wasn't. He realized that she was upset about it. He knew he had trouble going to sleep and could only imagine that she was too. He just didn't want that weakness again, didn't want another incident like the one with Karen.

"I'm sorry, I needed to think things over." Was his answer to her. He already knew he was attached, that the weakness was there. But she didn't want to destroy him, atleast not yet.

"If it was about the kiss, we can act like it never happened." She says after a moment catching him off guard. He thought she had fallen asleep. Thinking over what she said, he knew he wouldn't be able to forget it but for her he would pretend if she wanted.

Megan kinda hoped he wouldn't agree.

"How about just in front of the others, they don't need to know." She nods and hunkers down in his smaller bed. It was a full size but still smaller than her king, and she had to admit, just as comfortable.

* * *

"MEGAN!" Shaun yells waking the two when the door is flung open and light invades the dark room. Megan hides her face against Alex's arm, her back against his chest, and groans loudly. Alex on the other hand looks over to the door and has his free hand turn into claws. A surprised and strangled noise escapes Shaun as he quickly and loudly slams the door shut.

Megan was out just as quickly as she was awakened, Alex joining her in dreamland once more. This was the first good sleep either had managed to get in nearly a week. She hadn't realized just how well she slept with him in the bed.

Shaun shakily makes his way back downstairs to the rest of the Assassins who were waiting for him. On one hand he was happy when he found her (after nearly having a heart attack when he found her room empty and the memory of her kidnapping ripping its way to the front of his mind didn't help any) and on the other, he was truly terrified that Alex had been one step away from disemboweling him, had Megan not have been in the room with him. He was going to have Ezio pay for making him go to look for the girl, he could have died. And he rather liked his current status of Living.

"Did you find her?" Questions the Italian he was currently cursing in his head to the deepest pits of Tartarus.

"Yes, nearly got myself killed for no reason thank you very much." He sends the Renaissance Assassin a dirty look before joining him and the rest at the bar.

"Shit, it's already past noon. How much longer are they going to sleep?" Desmond questions before taking a bite of his sandwich. The rest give various methods of agreement before following suit and eating their lunches. It had been strange to not find the girl already awake and breakfast waiting on them. After her arm had healed, she was the first up and the first to greet them and have little conversations. The rest of the day would be weird because Ezio would keep grinning and laughing at odd moments and always when he would be looking at the stairs.

* * *

Megan didn't want to leave her warm, safe haven. That's what she really liked when she went to bed, the feeling that she was completely safe. That with him in the room alone no harm could come to her, emotional or physical. She snuggles down further and Alex responds by tightening his hold on her, not enough to harm but enough for her to know that he was just as content as she was. She didn't know what this relationship was and where it would go but where it was now made her content. They weren't dating, that much she knew, but the feelings were there blossoming into something new. And she couldn't help it, she wanted to see where it would go and what would happen when it got there. What would happen to the two of them when it got there.

They had eaten, Alex sneaking down and getting a few things. It was possibly the worst of the worst when it came to junk food but it was satisfying and the taste was exquisite. Especially when Alex fed one of the zingers to her, the taste became ten times better in her opinion. She had a feeling that they weren't going to be leaving anytime soon and she didn't care to much. The rest were fully grown and completely capable of taking care of themselves. They didn't need her to hold their hands, though she could only hope they kept Leo from destroying anything else in her home after he had decided taking apart the vacuum would be a brilliant idea and the rest just supervised.

She was happy once more.

* * *

Yay, another chapter out! I'm going to be going through the first year that they've been there rather quickly, but with enough strange things happening to keep them guessing. I'm sorry that this chapter came out a little late, I had some trouble at home. Family things and all. Well that, and my niece is here and with her being 2 she demands a lot of attention from _everyone_ that resides at the residence here.

As always I wanna thank those who have been reading this and to Raychaell Dionzeros, Pheonix-164, and to my guest reviewer; thank you all for the reviews!

Oh, and my guest reviewer; I try to keep going because I have terrible procrastination skills coupled with ADHD, so I can get bored with things fairly quickly if I don't keep it interesting for myself. OH! and -glomps back- Thanks!

I'm gunna get started on the next chapter right away! May have it out really soon because I changed around the chapter order when I though about it, I knew that anything interesting would be happening after the Christmas oneshot I started out with.


	8. Leave Out All The Rest

Megan could only stare. Her brain wasn't functioning and she was pretty sure she had stopped breathing. She sucks in a breath quickly, her lightheaded feeling getting only a little worse seeing as the breath she took was shallow and short. She was even sure her blood cells had decided to stay still and join her in her staring contest at the 6 men in swimsuits standing before her. This was too much for this time of day, especially seeing as she had just woken up. Alex was behind her and was probably just as confused as she was.

"Have you forgotten what you said we were going to do today?" Leo questions, cocking his head to the side and his blue eyes confused.

"… I'm still not awake." Was her response to him as she covers her eyes and forces herself to breathe. Was it warm in here or just her? Wait, scratch that; it was them and the half dressed man behind her. She turns back around and glides smoothly past Alex to go upstairs to change into her swimsuit. The two older Assassins had found a large creek about two weeks ago in June and today was July 4th. She just didn't know if she would be able to survive with more than half necked men around her.

Damn her hormones!

* * *

Well, she had effectively seen the best of the opposite gender and Channing Tatum couldn't hold a candle (well maybe a candle or a small, tiny flame) to them. She couldn't stop thinking _'I am the luckiest female in the world. I get to see __**THIS**__ every day!'_ with a little squeal afterwards in her head. Outside she was as calm as possible though she couldn't stop the little smile that was on her face. She was just glad that the aviators she wore were not allowing them to know she was doing what any woman with a pulse would be doing: Checking. Them. Out.

And what a sight they were making. Des, Alty, Ezzy, and Leo were playing football after Des had explained what it was and she wasn't all to bothered with the display. Now if she could get Alex join in, her hormones would be a puddle of goo. She also wondered why her hormones were rearing their head like they were. After she had the wonderful make out session with Alex, they were in the forefront and had no intention of going anywhere anytime soon.

Her eyes drift over to Alex. He was hiding under a tree wearing his normal attire of jeans, boots, and a short sleeve gray shirt. She really didn't need to fantasize about what the man looked like in shorts. She saw it every day and she couldn't say she wasn't happy. Ever since the trip to Seattle, the two of them had gotten closer. They hadn't gotten further than the make out; in fact, they hadn't repeated it. They were still in the beginnings of.. whatever this was.

She drinks the Watermelon Smirnoff that she had set beside her, tossing her hair back so she could soak up more vitamin c. She wore an orange triangle bikini top with short blue jean shorts.

The men were appreciating the sight she made as well.

The freckles that were dusted over her face followed to the rest of her body. They really liked the birth mark they saw on her left side just under her collar bone. The damn thing was easily hidden when she wore her tanks and they had just stared at it for a split second just so she wouldn't know what they had been looking at. Alex on the other hand wanted to rip all of their heads off for looking at her like they were. But he couldn't, it wasn't his place. He had no claim on her, they weren't dating or anything. They were just really good friends.

But Megan knew they were looking, well except Leo. Either history was right or he was really, really, really polite. She wasn't completely sure which though. She found it funny whenever Des would get distracted and one of the other men would bean him in the back of the head with the football. He almost made it into the dirt a few times. Malik and Shaun were relaxing in the creek, sticking with the shallows. She decided she was going to join them but she was going to play in the larger part that was almost like a very deep pond. It had been dug out long before she had shown up and there was a large ancient tree with a rope attached to one of the branches that hung out over the pond part. She walks down and past the two in the shallows, with all of them paying attention to what she was doing, and makes her way over to the rope. She grabs it and goes as far back as she could and takes a running leap into the air before floating over and into the water in a cannonball fashion. The water deafens her to any outside noise and as she sinks a little further, she gives a short laugh that causes larger bubbles to race to the surface. She was atleast 10 feet down below the surface when she swims up. She looks to the opposite bank and finds it empty so she turns around in the water and finds all of them, Alex included, where she had taken off.

She begins to laugh like crazy as she treads water then floats on her back without having to move her arms to keep that way. "What is wrong with you guys?" She questions as they become upside to her.

"We didn't know if you could swim." Was Ezio's response and the other 4 Assassins and painter nod in agreement.

"Well obviously I can swim. Hell I float better than I sink."

Altair frowns heavily. "We know that know." She sighs while rolling her eyes and does a backwards dive into the water once more. The silence was better than chiding. And she had every intention of getting as tipsy as she dared and staying that way for the remainder of the day. But she also wanted to swim so, the point was kind of moot.

A little while later she was floating around on top of the surface while Des, Shaun, and Ezzy were swimming around her and under her. She apparently was now an obstacle for them. She really didn't mind it though, made her feel like she was doing something other than laying in the water like a dead log. The sky was still a bright merry blue and she could feel her skin warming from it. The water wasn't all that cold right now but soon it would be. She would have to make a trip down to the south for a month or two, just so she could be warm and play in the surf like she used to. And she was pretty sure the guys would enjoy it too.

She swims over to the shallows and gets out, grabbing the towel she had previously been laying on to dry herself off. She was ready to get out, her hands and feet pruned and painful, and she really was ready for the day to be over with. Not that she wasn't having fun, oh no, but she wanted to spend more alone time with Alex. The man was telling her a lot about himself or what he could remember really. He had thought she would be repulsed but in truth, while some of the things did make her slightly sick, she hadn't known the man they, the Blackwatch dudes, called Zeus. To her he was Alex Mercer, the hottest piece of ass she had seen in a while and a really good friend with. He could make her laugh and he listened when she told him things about when she was a kid. She was even getting close to telling him about her family. She hadn't talked about them in a long time, atleast not while she was awake.

Alex watched her dry off then sits in an abandoned plastic chair one of the others had brought with them. Malik was manning the grill where the hot dogs and burgers were cooking. The girl sighs, puts on her aviators and relaxes, once more soaking up the sun. Her skin still remained pale, which was interesting, but the little smile she had when she noticed… something, had him wanting to grin like a loon. He didn't know the last time he had wanted to do that, in fact, he didn't know if he ever had. He only knew the ghosts of the feelings the real Alex had had for Karen and even those weren't strong, he didn't know if it was because of the feelings that were bubbling up inside of him or because the real Alex had never really felt them. He wanted to rip his hair out it was so confusing.

"The food is done!" Malik calls loudly, having already gotten his food before announcing to the rest. He didn't want to kill anyone about getting a burger or hotdog. Megan still wasn't telling them what all was in them but they were still good. The girl waited patiently at the end of the line, allowing the men to get their plates before getting her own. She had gotten enough food to make even them sick.

Leo wasn't having any of it though. This girl was allowing them to live freely in her home and didn't expect anything of them, even his benefactors hadn't been so kind. They would hound him for his works and pay very little for them. In a way, he guessed that was why he barely ever could keep one for very long. "Megan, come here!" He calls as he pushes the men back. Even Ezio, with all his education, should have known to allow the woman to go first instead of the men. She was, after all, the gentler sex and should be shown the kindness that was belonged to it. Flummoxed, she does so with her face red. Altair rolls his eyes but gets elbowed by Ezio and receives dirty looks from the other two as well. He didn't understand why they acted so gently around her as if she would break from a conversation. She had already been through a kidnapping and hadn't broke, though when they found the house destroyed she had cried for hours. Eventually she had gotten replacement shelves and the more modern Assassins had helped her with putting them up.

"Here, you are the benefactor so you should get your share first." Leo says that kind brotherly smile on his face.

"Um, o-ok…" She didn't know if she should be grateful or suspicious. For now, she would be a healthy mix of the two. She catches Ezzy looking at her and doesn't find that smirk there, the one that he had had since they returned from Seattle. Maybe he was dropping the _'I know what you did and wanted to do'_ thing. She loads her plate up, a cheeseburger and cool ranch Doritos. She scurries back to her pilfered seat and takes it over beside where Alex was sitting, away from where the rest were. They were up to something fishy and she could smell it…

"She knows…" Desmond says quietly to Ezio and Shaun. The two roll their eyes but couldn't help but agree.

"You're acting like children." Altair huffs as he takes a bite of his burger. They were sitting in a semi-circle, Desmond now on the ground because the girl had taken his chair. But he had payback for making him sick and while Altair and Malik wanted to act like they were above such petty things, they weren't. Hell, once they knew the girl could swim they were all in on the plan; albeit with plenty of bitching and moaning about how childish it was.

"She had gotten herself sick as well; I think that is enough don't you mi amico?" Leonardo questions his close friend; he really was fond of the girl. She was intelligent and, while a little naïve, trusting; she had somehow managed to get Alex, the man who morphed his limbs, to be tame and calm. None of them could deny that the real danger was him. But she seemed to give him complete faith with her life, and after the way he had acted when she was taken they couldn't say he didn't deserve some of the respect she gave him.

"No, she got all of us sick and while she herself did as well; this will be the peace da resistance." Ezio responds with a smirk, one that promised mayhem was soon to follow.

"Antiquing you say? I still do not understand how that is to give us revenge." Malik snorts afterwards. When Desmond first brought this about to them they couldn't understand why someone would waste a resource on something like that. Then they remembered the _store_ Megan took them too and fully agreed with it, only because they knew the resource was easily replenishable.

Desmond rolls his eyes but Shaun was the one to answer. "It's more along the lines of a prank, not revenge. American's are rather well known for it." He says with a smug note in his voice, one Desmond easily caught and returned a stuck out tongue to.

"It's easy; you just have to catch her off guard." Desmond shrugs, chowing through his second burger.

* * *

"They are up to something I can feel it." Megan mumbles to her herself; they were back inside the house because it was nighttime and the night air was cold. She was eagle eyeing the Assassin's, namely Des and Ezzy. She just didn't think that the oldest two would be in on anything, just those two. They were the troublemakers. But she couldn't deny Mother Nature's call any longer. She makes a break for the bathroom and when she comes out, Altair throws a bag of flour on her. She squeals in surprise, curling up on herself while standing on one leg to fend off any further attacks. Ezio was behind her with a bucket of water that he dumps over her head causing that same squeal to escape a second time.

She was now paste.

She looks down at herself, at the now gooey mess that covered her body. She could hear the chuckling of the men, except Leo and Alex (who had left to go _eat_), and scoops up some of the paste. Quickly she turns around and smears it down Ezzy's face and shirt, who in turn stares at her in surprised. She repeats the process but has to chase Alty down before she manages to rub it into his hair. Then all hell breaks loose.

And Alex walks in on the warzone of flour, sugar, water, and even chocolate sauce. He could only stand there in shock and wonder just what had happened in the 30 minutes he had been gone.

"Get him!" Megan yells as she pops up from behind the couch, a water gun in hand as Altair tosses flour on him and Desmond douses him with chocolate. Megan turns the mess into a paste as she squirts him with the water. He could only stand there dumbfounded.

Megan, on the other hand, was howling with laughter as the others eye her and return fire. The war resumed with Alex unsure of what was going on but revenge singing in his blood; but it wasn't the same that had him killing all those people, it was a friendly kind.

The focus of the main attack though was on Megan. And she was not giving up easily.

Megan was cracking, not literally though. The paste had hardened and dried and with every movement, was flaking off. She hadn't had that much childish fun in forever. Malik and Altair had even enjoyed themselves, which she would say was a breakthrough. While they had managed to loosen up some, this was the first time she had ever seen them really let loose and act immature. Alex had even joined in and while she had seen him without some of his guards in place but this was the first she had possibly seen with him having so many down and in front of the rest of them. She was glad, glad that dynamics were changing and they all were becoming friends.

In fact, they were all lying on the ground in the middle of the mess they had made, Megan's head laying on Alex's stomach. They were laughing, just laughing. For no reason other than enjoyment and exhaustion. She wasn't bothered with the mess, she was too happy that everyone had enjoyed themselves and acted like little kids. From everything she had learned from them, they never really got to have a childhood. Never really got to act like children. They always had to be aware and be alert to any kind of danger, no matter what they were doing. Here it was safe and they didn't need to do that, they didn't need to be alert at all times, they didn't need to fear what could be lurking outside the house.

Megan could only hope that she could keep them acting like this. It was fun and she hadn't felt like this in years.

"This is going… to be hell to … clean up tomorrow." Shaun says between breaths. Megan could only agree with him. Right now, she needed a shower and she would play dirty to be the first in.

"See ya suckers!" She yells as she scrambles to her feet, pushing down on shoulders to keep her balance as she makes her way up the stairs. The stampede behind her had her pounding her feet on the floor harder to make it to her bathroom first. She releases a peal of laughter as she slams her door shut in Alex's face, grabs her clothing as Alex gets the door open, and locks the bathroom door just as he runs into it. She couldn't breathe she was laughing so hard. Alex hit the door and it rattled like an earthquake shook the place. She strips, throwing the dirty clothing in the hamper and gets into the shower.

When she gets out, clean and changed, Alex was standing in the middle of the room with his own clothing waiting on her. She moves aside to let him use the shower. She looks at her bathroom door when he closes it and sees the crack running down it and the caved part of where his head's height was. She begins to snicker, imagining his surprise as hitting the door.

She exits her room and goes into his, getting comfortable on his bed. This was definitely something they had gotten in the habit of. The two would spend a few nights in her bed or a few in his. They didn't care really which one. Ezio peaks into the room and when he sees that Alex wasn't in there, he comes inside the room. He was clean so she assumed that whoever he raced to get to the shower first, he won. He clears his throat.

"Megan, I need to speak with you."

"About?" She leads confused about this whole thing and then that smirk shows up. That one that meant he knew something.

"About how you and Alex are close." She swallows the lump in her throat. If he noticed then what about the others? Ezio shakes his head as if he could read her mind. "No one else had put it together yet. Well, Leonardo may have but he may not have really put it together." He stops, looking thoughtful before continuing. "But I must ask if you're sure of your feelings?"

She sighs. "I- I don't know. This is something new and what I feel I don't know if he reciprocates. I'm still trying to figure it all out. For now, we're friends. Really good friends." She answers, her face a little red. Ezio's smirk changes into that of an older brother's soft smile. He walks over and sits on the bed, patting her leg. She smiles at his understanding and gives him a hug then he leaves. Alex comes in right afterwards and she has to fight the blush trying to take over her face. He gives her a curious look before getting in the bed with her.

"What did the Italian want?"

"Nothing, just wanted to talk. He's fucking random." She gives a laugh as Alex tugs her down further into the bed. She didn't complain in the least. The house was cold at night and she still enjoyed sharing in Alex's warmth. He had explained that his body now ran at a higher temperature than normal peoples and that the season's didn't bother him. She had joked that she wished she could be that way, she hated always being cold. He had just laughed, saying that she didn't have to worry about it. But she was happy right now, her heart light. She relaxes, pushing the conversation she had with Ezzy to the back of her mind, and clearing her mind. She falls asleep quickly.

* * *

"This is ridiculous. How are we going to ever get this stuff off?" Megan says, sitting up and wiping her brow with her arm. Her eyes drift up to the ceiling and her mouth drops open. "How the hell did we get it up there?!" The rest of the men look up and stare for a moment before beginning to laugh. They had been at it for hours, ever since they had woken up and ate breakfast. The paste had hardened into rather resistant globs that didn't want to be broken or removed from their place.

"I... do not know…" Leo says, fighting down the laughter so that he could speak. Ezio was leaning against him, using him for support as he seemed incapable of it himself.

"That is excellent!" Ezio crows out, laughing harder. Megan throws the wet rag she was using to soak the flour mixture at his face; it hits its mark, wrapping around his head like a blindfold. He gives a manly shriek before falling over backwards causing Altair and Malik to shake their heads at his stupidity while everyone else began to howl in laughter. They were still having fun from last night, which was a good thing. They were relaxed still.

"Weak." Alty says to him, a cruel smirk on his face as Ezzy rips off the rag and glares at him.

"Ok, ok; as fun as last night was, I really don't want a repeat. Who knows how long this is going to take if we don't get it cleaned up soon." Megan says giggling. The two roll their eyes but return to scrubbing. Everyone was trying something different; she had a wet rag soaking parts of the paste before she scraped it off with a scraper. Leo had one as well but was scraping it off while it was dry, Ezio was scrubbing the at it with a soapy sponge with an abrasive side, and the rest were just trying to get it off of whatever it seemed to be on. It was hard work and by the end of the day, they had managed to get it off of everything but the ceiling. Megan sighs, rotating her shoulder. Her arms were killing her because no matter what they tried to use, nothing worked. It took good old fashioned elbow grease. It was painful. "Screw iiiitttt…" She whines to herself walking over to the couch where the rest of them were laying around on the furniture, all just as exhausted as she was.

"So who's going to make dinner?" Desmond questions, and everyone pelts him with pillows.

* * *

Alrighty, another chapter down! I had several ideas for different chapters but I really liked this one.

I want to thank, as always, anyone who reads this. When I last checked I have over 500 total views. I had a few new people review and there were questions that were asked.

twonormalgirlsandaiportal: The pairing with be explored further. Its a learning process. And I have the first of many outtakes finished. The first I hope you enjoy.

**Raychaell Dionzeros**: I love the idea. I might use it. I don't know if it will be in an outtake or in the main story just yet. I will tell you though that I couldn't stop laughing when I read the review. I still laugh when I think of it. Best review to wake up to.

**Pheonix-164**: I have to agree with you and the term you coined has sent me into a giggle fit at random times. And I'm glad I'm not the only person dealing with ADHD, you would think that after how long I've been dealing with it I would have a better hold of it.

And also, I wont be updating for the rest of the week. I'm going over and hanging out with some friends for the rest of the week and also helping them move. Just because I'm that kind of person. As always, I enjoy hearing anything you have to say about my story and welcome reviews, faves, and you can e-mail me if you have questions. My e-mail is on my homepage. Thanks!


	9. In Pieces

Ok, I told myself that I wouldn't work at all on anything to do with my story for my 5 day weekend but when you're up till 5am cause your friend and his girlfriend work at night and thusly stay up till then ya kinda get bored. While no, I didn't start a new chapter I did work on the chapter list and kinda give myself a summary that way. I still know how the story is going and I had an internal fight for the last chapter and epilogue. I now have that worked out. So thank you to all who wished me a wonderful weekend. The next chapter will be Christmas day, so I've already gotten to the short story.

Here is chapter 9. Enjoy!

* * *

Megan stared at the pink, squishy, lumpy, giant mass of flesh in front of her. She couldn't touch it. She could barely bring herself to cut open the plastic that had covered it. The guys had decided a 30 pound fowl would be excellent for Thanksgiving. Why they needed that much dead bird, she didn't know. Not to mention, they had her awake far earlier than she wanted to be. Her eyes shift from the turkey to the stuffing that sat beside it.

"I can't do this…" She says as she backs away from the bird. Des, Ezzy, and Leo look at her confused.

"You can't tell me that you've never stuffed a bird." Des questions her. Ezio and Leo look between the two, Ezio still mashing the potatoes and Leo shelling boiled eggs.

"I haven't…" She answers as she tears her eyes away from the dead bird. She had such a problem with touching raw bird. It was just to gross. Des' eyes widen slightly before he bursts into laughter causing her face to gain a pink tint. She glares at him in embarrassment. Ezio and Leo grab a chip from the pile that sat between them on the bar. This was interesting. Once Megan and Desmond had mentioned this rather interesting holiday, all of the Assassins were in. How can you pass up a day meant for eating yourself into a coma? "Shut up Desmond." She scowls at him. She wanted to toss something at him but after the antiquing snafu, she wasn't going to do such a thing again. Instead she takes the hand towel she had on her shoulder and snaps it at his waist. The resulting crack made all three men jump, Desmond most. He rubs the spot on his stomach as he eyes the towels in her hands. She gives a grin and snaps the towel again. It gives another loud crack drawing the attention of Shaun, Alty, and Mal to the kitchen. Alex was asleep on the couch.

"How did you-"

"SH!" Ezio hushes Altair and pulls him down into the chair beside him. Leo motions to Mal and Shaun the seats beside him without looking. She twists the towel, a grin on her face. Des was eyeing the towel, anticipating the next crack. She goes to snap it and when he goes to grab it she fakes and snaps it at his arm. He yelps when it makes contact, grabbing his arm and turning around leaving his backside open. Her grin widens into a full scale maniacal glee as the rest realize what she planned on doing and continued to eat the chips being passed around. She winds up and lets the towel fly; giving the loudest crack so far, sounding almost like a gunshot. Desmond yells loudly, ignoring his arm for his now abused rear end. Alex jumps up, eyes blurry, and looks around to find 5 of the 6 Assassins howling with laughter and nearly falling out of their chairs and the other Assassin hopping around holding his rear. He could hear Megan laughing but couldn't see her.

Suddenly her hand pops up from the floor to the bar counter, clutching it as she pulls herself off the ground. She was bent over the bar still laughing while Des glared at her, rubbing the offended part of his person.

Obviously Alex missed something.

Desmond grabs the hand towel from off the oven door and spins it, a small grin in place. He snaps it at her hip and she gives a small cry of surprise and pain as it cracks on her person, falling to the ground with a thud and moan.

"Why does anything hitting you hip feel like you've been shot?" She bemoans from the floor.

"Come on, it doesn't hurt that much." Desmond says while rolling his eyes, helping her up. She rubs her hip and notices Alex awake. She smiles widely at him.

"Morning!" She calls to him and he shakes his head from her antics. She was sometimes just to awake for her own good. He relaxes back onto the couch, closing his eyes to go back to sleep. Ezio watches the two rather closely, as he had been since he and Megan had their small conversation. None of the others still had a clue as to what was going on which both were ok with. She and Alex had yet to define what they were.

"What exactly happened to prompt this?" Malik questions after several moments.

"Megan has never "stuffed a turkey" before and Desmond found this to be amusing." Ezio answers, even throwing in the finger gestures for quotations. Megan, Des, and Shaun stop to look at him.

'_How is it he makes everything sound dirty?'_ Megan thinks glancing at the two modern Assassins. Desmond had a huge grin on his face while Shaun was shaking his head. No one else seemed to realize how wrong it had sounded. Alty and Mal look at her in surprise.

"Have you never done this before?" Shaun questions, pushing his glasses up his nose. She shakes her head in the negative.

"Never really had much of a reason. I was always alone when Thanksgiving came around." She shrugs, dropping the subject to return to the problem at hand; which meant the ginormous bird they would be cooking in her oven for the rest of the day. She turns to Desmond who raises an eyebrow at her.

"You're doing it."

She huffs, crossing her arms under her chest. She was still wearing her pajamas; consisting of a large black long sleeve with the sleeves rolled up and her favorite red and black flannel pants. "I just don't understand why I was volunteered for this without my knowing."

"You have the smallest hands." Malik responds eating a chip. Megan's head drops in dismay.

"That is so not fair." She mumbles as she goes to wash her hands once more. Once her hands are cleaned off she grabs a handful of stuffing and, taking a deep breath, sticks it inside the bird. Her eyes widen and she removes the appendage, bouncing around and exclaiming how gross it was with, "EW, EW, EW, EEEEEEEWWWWWWWW!"

All of the Assassins laugh at her obvious disgust.

"I-I think that's enough stuffing in there." She says turning to Desmond with doe-like eyes.

"Nope, keep going."

"But its SLIMEY!" Her face scrunches up.

"Keep going." Was his response.

"You suck." She retorts, once more grabbing a handful of stuffing to put in the bird. She keeps up with the 'ew's as she puts more stuffing inside. She was only happy that she didn't have to pull out the insides, all thanks to Desmond. She would have barfed all over him if she had had to do so. With each ew she uttered she was rewarded, well she really couldn't think of it as a reward but oh well, with chuckles from the men around her. Finally her job was done and all she had to do was sew the bird up… if she could. The damn thing looked ready to explode all over them as it was. "Shaaaauuuun…" She whines turning to the counter. Said red head sighs and gets up, washes his hands and takes the needle and thread from the counter to sew it up as she scrubs like a mad woman on her hands and arms. She felt so gross.

Once Shaun was distracted she makes her break for the couch only to be grabbed by the back of her shirt by Alty. "Nooooo, no more please!"

"To bad." Was the retort she received as he plunks her down on the chair beside him. Her head meets the bar in response. A bowl is placed infront of her and when she looks at it, with trepidation mind you, finds it was just the bowl of chips they had been passing around. Cool Ranch Doritos, her favorite. She sits straight and watches as Des and Shaun lift the massive fowl, now covered over with tin foil in the dish, into her oven. They nearly didn't make it.

"You know how to make deviled eggs?" Des questions as he looks at her before returning to the giblet gravy.

"I think I remember how." She answers as Leo passes the now shelled eggs to her and a knife. She cuts the eggs in half, putting the yolk into a new bowl provided by the Brit before he went back around the bar to his seat. They continue on this way, every once in a while Alex would wake up and help. The weather had yet to give the first snow of the year again, once more odd. It was still frosty and cold but no snow in the forecast. She didn't much mind it, it had allowed them to go get the things for a Thanksgiving feast. The only thing was that the actual holiday was tomorrow.

* * *

"Oh meh gosh, that smells so good!" Megan says as she, Mal, Alty, Ezzy, and Leo were gathered around the oven several hours later. They all take a deep breath of the smell of the turkey cooking and exhale, practically drooling as the do. Des rolls his eyes at them and Alex chuckles low. Megan's eyes shift over to the man and her happy mood demands she act goofy. She takes off to the couch Alex was still occupying by laying down on but her ability to become clumsy at inopportune times decides to pop up. Instead of stopping at the edge of the couch, she instead falls over the edge of it and straight into Alex's stomach face first.

Everyone freezes.

It starts with Ezio giving a guffaw and then everyone joins in, Megan jumping up and off of Alex with one of the rare moments of grace and runs over to the stairs to go up them when she pauses.

"I fucking hate you Ezio." She says with a dark glare directed towards him. Said Italian falls out of his confiscated chair onto the floor, laughing even harder. Desmond even joins him on the floor, which just causes her already dark look to become the glare that drops the temperature several degrees.

It doesn't affect the two, unfortunately.

Shaun, on the other hand, felt the need to warn them about it; if only for posterity's sake. "I would stop if-"

Megan grabs two books and, with an accuracy she can never seem to call upon other than when upset, chunks them at the two. The one aimed at Ezio hits him in the stomach but the one aimed at Desmond hits him between the legs. His voice ends in a squeak, his eyes cross, grabs hold of himself, and rolls over onto his stomach groaning. Everyone stops laughing but Megan, who begins to howl with laughter.

"That's not right…" Malik says, cringing. Megan stops laughing suddenly.

"It's only fair. They were laughing at me, I get to laugh at them." And very childishly, she sticks her tongue out at the ones who could see her. Desmond continues to groan on the ground and Megan walks over to him, Ezio having gotten over his own shock and gotten up, stands beside the pained man. He turns his head enough to look up at her.

"It… hurts…" Megan could only describe his voice as sounding tight. The amount of pain that was laced in his voice showed her that he truly was in pain. She looks at him for a few seconds before scoffing and going over to get a hand towel and ice. She bundles up the cubes and returns back to Des. She sits on the floor beside him and hands over the ice which he takes, wedging it between himself and the floor.

"All men are babies…" Megan sighs out, once more rolling her eyes. Ezzy, Mal, Shaun, Alty, and Leo all give her a flat look at her comment. She gives a shrug. "If you went through half the things girls did, none of you would survive. Let alone, be sane." She says once more shrugging.

"We are not." Malik huffs back to her.

* * *

"That was possibly the best fight verbal fight Mal and I have had so far." Megan says from the bathroom, the door cracked open as she was getting ready, giggling. Alex rolls his eyes at her from the bed. On TV was Ridiculousness, something she had gotten into watching and near passing out laughing even if she had seen the episode before. She opens the door and Alex does a double take. Either he was losing his mind or she was wearing less to bed here lately. Right now she had on possibly the smallest pair of gray female sleeping boxers he had seen and one of her red tank tops. Alex swallows the lump that had formed in his throat. She stops and looks at the TV, her face blanked as she watches the people get past sketchy situations. She starts laughing as the cop jumps over a car to avoid being hit and then the commentary provided by Rob, Justin, Steelo, and Chanel. "I love this show." She says, looking back at him with a smile. He nods stiffly in agreement.

"Uh, when do you have to go back to writing?"

Her face becomes blank once more in thought. She shrugs after a few moments and walks over to the bed to get in. "Whenever." She answers as she gets in and snuggles up to him. He gives a little chuckle and pulls her closer to him. He guess he really could complain, he hardly wore anything other than boxers so she would be entitled to wear whatever she wanted to; especially seeing as it was her room and he was a guest. The only thing was that he couldn't seem to calm his heart's beating or the blood singing in his veins. He could only hope she didn't seem to notice it.

"You're publicist is upset with this isn't?" She gives a pealing laugh that reminded him of crystalline bells.

"Oh, he's livid. Keeps threatening to come down here and kick my butt into writing again." Her face darkens a fraction. "I'm not a fucking machine." Alex pulls her closer, hiding his laughter as best he could. She could feel him laughing though. She pushes away minutely to look at him. "You still gunna check on the turkey?"

He sighs. "Yeah." Her smile returns and she lays down, giggling as Alex's arms wrap around her waist.

* * *

"Good Morning!" Megan says when she sees the rest of the guys downstairs. Ezio's head was on the bar, Altair had his flopped over the back of his chair, Mal was leaned against Altair's shoulder still asleep, and Leonardo was asleep on the couch. Her eyebrows raise as they all jump awake, blearily looking at her in surprise. They make half-hearted attempts at greetings to her. Desmond's head pops out from behind the wall that separated the kitchen and the underside of the stairs. "Lemme guess, no coffee yet?"

"You got that right. Shaun's near dead on his feet over here. You mind making the coffee, he's to busy with making his tea first." Desmond questions her, motioning his head to inside the kitchen. She nods her head in agreement as the other men return to the positions she had found them in when she came down. She heads around and looks at Shaun, who she had to agree looked ready to fall asleep on his feet, and gets to the coffee maker that just needed to be turned on. She leans against the counter beside the coffee maker and turkey, Alex had stayed up near all night and had removed it early in the morning. Said man was asleep upstairs and she had no plans of waking him up, he was tired. When the machine beeps to signal its completion minutes later, she carefully pours each a cup and sets it infront of each man. Leo had joined them at the bar at some point, she just didn't know when. She pours two more cups and makes hers the way she likes before taking them upstairs to her room.

When she pushes the door open with her foot and finds Alex just waking up, reaching over to where she had been sleeping. She sets the cup she made for him on his side of the bed on the table and calmly, quietly, walks back over to her side and sets hers on the table there. She gets back under the blankets and is immediately pulled up against Alex. Her body warms up from his body heat; she knew the others had made the joke of him being a space heater to her but he was more than that. She still wasn't sure what he meant other than she couldn't stop the idiotic grin that came to her face whenever she noticed him coming into the room or when she catches him looking at her or just him in general. She knew that her feelings were getting stronger for him. She just didn't know how he felt about her.

That was what had her so conflicted. She didn't want to admit it to him and be rejected. So to her it was just safer for her to not do or say anything.

"Where did you go?" He questions after a few minutes. She giggles.

"Coffee. Got you some too." She says nodding her head to her cup of coffee that was now to far away for her to reach. Oh well, she needed it to cool off. She liked her coffee cold, for some reason. He pulls her deeper into the bed, farther away from her drink and into the warmth he provided. She giggles again.

"Those two really have no idea what the other feels, do they?" Desmond questions the others after Megan goes up the stairs. They were still dead on their feet, so to speak, and didn't give much of a response. Des shakes his head and returns to cooking, ignoring the asleep people. It was kind of funny, to see them with their guards so down.

"This holiday is so tiring. And it hasn't even started yet…" Ezio whines from his prone position on the bar. The rest give grunts of agreement, taking drinks of the dark liquid she had put before them before returning to the position most comfortable to them.

Hours later, Megan finally makes it back downstairs with Alex in tow. He still seemed dead on his feet. Megan pulls him over to the couch and grabs her blanket to wrap around the two of them as they got comfortable once more. She didn't much care what the others thought and they had been doing things like that since a few months after they had arrived. They had gotten used to it and found it normal. But after Ezio had blabbed his mouth about the fact that the girl had feelings for the man, they could really only think of keeping her safe, both physically and emotionally. She seemed to be doing a good job of keeping herself sane without them though.

"Hey Megan, everything is done." She sits up and looks over to the feast laid out on the bar. She grins and carefully gets off the couch only to run over to the bar and grab a plate to put food on. She surprises everyone by piling a ton of food on her plate. They all stare at her.

Her grins widens as their eyes bulge. She had what equaled to a small mountain on her plate. And they had never seen her eat more than what was the recommended serving for one person.

"I think we have figured out why she eats so little during the year. She saves the space for Thanksgiving." Ezio mumbles as she walks over to the couch once more and they get their food. She curls up in her designated spot, Alex's eyebrows raised as he spots the food on her plate.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with you on that. Or she eats so much that she doesn't have room for food for the rest of the year." Altair retorts.

"She's going to put herself into a food coma." Shaun remarks to them and they all laugh in agreement.

"How are you going to fit all of that into your tiny body?" Questions Alex as he watches her eat from the corner of his eye. She sticks her tongue out at him and continues to eat as the rest join them about the living room.

"…. I ate to muuuuch…" Altair moans from his spread eagle position on the floor. Malik, Desmond, Ezio, Leo, and Shaun were in much the same position on the floor as the Arab. They were making gurgling noises, moaning, groaning or snoring outright. Megan was flopped over the arm of the couch making much the same noise.

"Food, so much food…. Feel sleepy…" Alex shakes his head as she groans this out. The food needed to be put away before it spoiled and unfortunately for him, he was the only one still conscious. He gets up with a groan, walking over to all the food and hoping her fridge was large enough to hold all of it.

* * *

Megan wakes up in her bed sometime later. She was still dressed which meant Alex had just put her to bed. Her stomach hurt and she knew it was because she had eaten to much food. But it had been such good food she couldn't stop herself. Alex was behind her, holding onto her carefully around her waist. She removes his appendage from her person so she could relieve herself and get changed. Her jeans weren't comfortable to sleep in.

When she comes back out of the bathroom Alex was awake and waiting for her. Apparently he noticed her disappearance.

"You alright?" He questions. She could hear the need of sleep in his voice. She wasn't dense. She knew that each of them had taken to staying up on guard duty, Alex most of all. He didn't need as much sleep as the others but he still needed it. She smiles softly at him and walks over to the bed and gets in.

"Yeah, just had to get changed. Wasn't to comfy." She answers. If there was one thing she really liked about Alex, it was his eyes. While at first she had been scared of him and how his eyes glowed; now she enjoyed it. It let her know he had his focus on her instead of something else. And the color was beautiful as well. He gives her a sleepy smile and relaxes back into the bed.

"Alright…" He yawns out and she rolls her eyes. He was just to cute for his own good at this moment and she couldn't resist doing just one thing; she gives him a soft kiss on the forehead, right beside his hair line. His eyes snap open at the contact and he sits back up to look at her. The movement and contact had caught him off guard.

Sensing she did something wrong, she flushes and hides under the blankets; tucking them tightly around herself.

Carefully, as if he was dealing with a skittish animal, he pries the blankets out of her hands and away from her head. She covers her face with her arms so he wouldn't see just how embarrassed she was by what she did. He waits till she moves her arms from her face, which takes several minutes. He just didn't know why she did that or if she had really done so. He wanted to find out and figure out, did she feel the same way as he did?

"Sorry." She mumbles, not looking at him. He forces her to look at him and her blue-green eyes tell him the truth. He had heard somewhere, where he didn't know, that the eyes were the window to the soul. And then he found that he himself couldn't resist her. He finds himself kissing her with force, enough to show her his feelings but not enough to hurt her. She was so much more frail than him. He stops after several minutes, both of them gasping for breath. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and one of his cradling her head while the other supported his weight off of her body. Their foreheads rested against one another, her eyes closed while his were open.

"Wow…" She breathes out, and he falls down beside her; pulling her flush against him. He didn't want to take things farther than need be and seeing as neither knew what their feelings were for the other, this was far enough. But he had to agree with her assessment.

* * *

Alright chikadees, I'm back! I had a great 5 day weekend with my best friend and his girlfriend. But seeing as they work nights I had plenty of time to figure out this chapter and the next few of them. I even have a new idea for another story, one that I won't be working on till after this one is done hopefully. If I do, I wont post it until I have this one finished.

I wanna thank all of you who have read this story so far and special thanks to Pheonix-164, Raychaell Dionzeros, and to my Guest reviewer!And I wanna thank you for thinking my stories are epic. The paste scene came to mind once I thought of antiquing and how to make it just one giant mess, thusly it became paste. You're not the only one who tried not to laugh at the scene, I was writing it and had to bite my tongue.

Pheonix-164: Yes, I agree. They will never eat another hotdog once they find out what's in it. As for the Alty can't swim thing, don't worry. I have plans for that *evilly plotting*

Raychaell Dionzeros: I am so glad you find this story funny. I'm aiming for it to be mostly so. Just don't be drinking anything while you read, would hate for you to ruin you computer screen. Lol.

So I now leave you with with this new chapter and humbly request for any reviews, faves, likes, shares, pm's, e-mails (pheonix_goddess16 ), or anything! I love to hear feedback or ideas! If I use them I will give credit! Thank You!


	10. Christmas Day

Megan was trying, trying oh so hard, to ignore the rather childish yells coming from Ezio as he pounded on her door. She could hear him crying out that it was Christmas morning and that they had been waiting for as long as they could for her and Alex to get up and that they wanted to open their presents.

She wanted to kill the dark haired Italian.

She rolls over, Alex not in the bed with her she notices, and sighs. This was not how she wanted to wake up, especially since she stayed up till fucking 4 in the morning to go put up the presents she had gotten for the guys under the enormous tree the put up yesterday. The others all seemed to have gotten the same idea as she did and had to wait for someone to sneak down and put gifts under the tree. It had been to cute, especially when Shaun had gone. She had peeked out of her door to see him loaded down with gifts and she could only imagine how red his face had been. She had given each of them money and released them into the mall in town over the two days one at a time and hadn't questioned or snuck a look at what they had gotten one another, though she knew what some were getting since neither Altair or his late descendant knew how to wrap. She was curious as to how Mal managed to wrap gifts when she saw him carting a bag of wrapped boxes down the stairs. When he had come back up she had grabbed her own gifts and took them down. Alex was asleep through all of it, she had checked to make sure he was. Didn't move in the least.

She throws the blankets off of her and puts on her robe over her dark gray long sleeve and purple pajama pants before going over to her door and opening it to let the man see her rather displeased face.

He either wasn't fazed or didn't care. She wanted to smack him.

"Yes?" She says, hiding her yawn behind her hand. He grabs that same wrist and bends at the waist, pulling her onto his shoulder and standing. Her eyes widen and she squeaks in surprise as he carts her to the stairs and down them, not missing one or faltering in his steps.

"It's Christmas morning!" He says halfway down the stairs as an answer. She just hangs over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, his smarmy attitude getting on her nerves. She was tired dammit. His hold goes no further than her knees and atleast she was grateful for that. She didn't need diced Ezio all over her floor from the many men with pointy and sharp objects.

He carts her over to the couch and sets her down on it, giving her a wide happy smile and a thumbs up. Her urge to throw something at him grew. Beside her was Alex to her right and Leonardo to her left. A pile of gifts were pushed towards her by Desmond and Shaun, who both had rather sleepy smiles on their faces. Altair hands her a cup of coffee and when she takes a drink of it, finds that it was made just the way she liked it. Everyone looked like they were wakened by the Italian man-child. And why the hell was he so awake? Did he not go to sleep and was still drunk from yesterday? Her questions would have to wait till later, as would her urge to shove a snowball down his pants.

"You first Megan. It is your house after all." Leonardo says as he motions to her pile. It was considerably larger than they rest of theirs which she took to meaning they had spent most of the money she had given them on her. She felt not only flattered but spoiled by this revelation.

"Oh, okay." She grabs one from the top and finds that it was from Shaun. Quietly she breathes a sigh of relief at this; the Brit would have gotten her something useful or something she definitely liked. Some of Ezio's had her worried, no sure that he would have revenge taken upon him. The wrapping was very well done, she could say professionally done, and she didn't want to tear it up. But her own excitement gets the better of her as she tears into it. It was one of the Anne Rice books, The Vampire Lestat. It was the only one she hadn't been able to find and it was a first printing. She gives him a smile of gratitude to which he nods in response. Then the wrapping and tissue go flying, covering everyone in confetti. Her hair looked like a rainbow threw up on her.

But she couldn't say she didn't enjoy it, it had felt so familiar to her. In the end it took less than 10 minutes to open all the gifts, Ezio receiving more than one angry glare. Two of the gifts she had gotten from him she couldn't even take out of the boxes, closing them quickly and hiding them under the other gifts she had gotten to burn later. Ezio had seen and she could tell that he wasn't going to let her get away that easily.

"So Alta-"

"Why are you hiding the gifts I gave you?" Ezio questions her loudly, drawing the attention to her and cutting her off. She fights the blush that threatens to darken her face but not the scowl. "I thought you would like them." The smile he was giving her made her want to shred his face into ribbons. When everyone looks between the two she loses the fight against her blush.

"I- uh-You-er-…" She stutters out, unable to form a coherent sentence. That alone spoke volumes on how embarrassed she was from his gifts. His smile widens with each fragment of a sentence she starts but becomes unable to finish.

"They are strawberry flavored." She didn't know how were body was still able to function when so much blood was diverting to her skin so show her discomfort. Leonardo, Altair, and Malik look at the two confused while Alex (who had the decency to blush as well and hid under his hoodie), Desmond, and Shaun have dawning of some sort enlighten them. She decided the Italian was going to die, very painfully and slowly and without mercy. And judging by the way Alex was refusing to look at her, he was probably going to be helping. The two more modern Assassins were snickering like immature high schoolers. She was going to be getting them as well. Thankfully the others didn't get it and she was never going to explain it to them. She could only hope the others would do the same.

"Let me guess…" Desmond begins and her eyes widen. When had it turned from Christmas day to Pick on Megan Day?

"No, no guessing!"

"Edible underwear?" Shaun counters, his smile downright evil. They immediately moved to the dead list, Ezio and them tying for first place. She didn't know if her face could get any redder.

"I didn't think underwear was edible." Altair questions.

She stood corrected.

Megan grabs a pillow from behind Leo and holds it against the upper part of her face and leans back, groaning. She couldn't believe he said that.

"Does it actually taste like strawberry?" Leonardo asks his friend. She knew it was because his intellect wanted to know but the conversation was about to cause her to combust. She didn't know how much more she could handle.

"Yes. The texture reminds me of the fruit roll up things she got us that one time, but otherwise very tasty."

That was it. They were all going to die.

She bursts off the couch, fingers curled into claws, and takes off after the Italian Assassin. He gives a cry of humor and rolls out of the way while she continues on to the bookshelf where she stops and turns around. Her eyes were narrowed and pain was readable. The cause of the ire, a.k.a. Ezio, gulps. He might of pushed it just a little too far. He was only happy she didn't have any sharp objects to hurl at him, though her nails would easily tear up his flesh if he let her catch him. He certainly had no plans of that. And he also notices her lack of no grace, she wasn't faltering when she had went after him nor while she was stalking towards him as she was right now.

He had certainly pushed it too far.

With a roar that even caused Altair to flinch, she jumped and caught him. He hadn't been expecting that.

"OW, NO, STOP, THAT HURTS!"

* * *

Megan was happy.

Megan was very happy.

She had a cup of lukewarm coffee and was currently sitting atop a certain Italian who was wrapped to tightly with ribbon he couldn't move let alone get out. She was also sure the butter knife she had against his ribs was also helping because, let's face it: She was just over 100 lbs., short, and female. But she had taken down the Italian. Shreds of clothing decorated the floor along with the wrapping and tissue paper from presents. Her eyes cut to the group of men (Alex with them) who were huddled into a corner that was also known as the kitchen. They were hiding behind the counter, not ducked but standing though none the less hiding.

She gives a mirthless grin, coffee cup at her lips, and pokes the knife into Ezio's ribs. He grunts in discomfort and the rest flinch. It had been like this for the last 30 minutes, since she had taken down the larger man and tied him up. If there had been one thing she had learned well, it was how to tie people up courtesy of her brothers. She couldn't remember how many times her mother had found her in a position such as this, minus someone sitting on her, in the living room or her bedroom or a random closet. She had to be cut out of them more than her mother could untie them, mostly because they had used her hair as a starting point for the knots. That was probably why she always had short hair growing up.

Guessing Ezio had learned his lesson she gets off him and, with a rather quick flick of her wrist, cuts the ribbon right beside the knot. The ribbon loosens and falls away much to the surprise of the others around them. As he stands she cocks her hip, arms crossed under her bust and an eyebrow raised.

"Well?"

"I will not do that again." He says, rubbing his wrists as he stands up. He was pouting. She waits a moment before giving him a smile.

"Good!" She chirps happily, turning on the balls of her feet to go to the bar, pulling him along with her by a wrist. She sets him down at a chair and takes one beside him.

The rest of the men were still flinching.

She rolls her eyes, scoffing softly. She couldn't have been that scary. She was a little girl after all. Ezio wraps an arm around her shoulders giving a quick kiss to the top of her head. She laughs and the others relax as they see the two acting as they would normally. Of course she still had a question on her mind.

"Did you ever go to sleep last night?" She questions him, leaning back away from Ezio. He looks thoughtful for a moment before answering.

"No not really."

"So you're still drunk?" She gives him an incredulous look.

"Most likely." He gives her a brilliant smile. Her eyes widen and the rest just stare openly at him.

"You are not allowed to drink again." Altair says after a few minutes, golden eyes hardening into a glare. The rest nod in agreement, Megan included. Desmond sets a plate of pancakes infront of her, while the rest take seats around the bar with their own plates of pancakes.

While eating the only thing Megan could think about was what she was going to do with the obvious gag gift. Probably just throw them away.

* * *

Megan had retreated to her room later that day, her gifts laid out on her bed. She had the two pairs of edible underwear in the trash can, where she knew they belonged. But the rest of her gifts were around her where she could look at them. The book she had gotten from Shaun was in her lap, a bookmark several pages in to mark her place. There was a set of throwing knives given to her from Altair, a couple of sets of pajamas of various colors from Malik, Desmond had given her some bath stuff (she had plans with her bathtub later and the bubble bath was going with her along with her new book), Shaun had gotten her a few other little things also for her hair like clips and scrunchies and pins to put it up, Leonardo had given her some paintings he had made himself (she had plans to put them up and cherish them forever, they were never to be sold so help her or her family would be haunted till the end of time), and Ezio had gotten her a few real gifts like a necklace with a small sapphire and a few other pretty and girly things she couldn't say she didn't like.

She was glad for the gifts she had gotten but she was still a little sad because Alex hadn't gotten her anything. He had gotten the rest of the guys something; little things that guys would get one another if forced but for her, nothing.

She couldn't help the sigh of disappointment that came out. She had realized just how she felt about the man and obviously he felt the same about her, if the make out he had initiated during Thanksgiving was anything. She had just meant to give him a simple, meaningless kiss on the forehead but he had taken it further. She also had felt both glad and disappointed when he stopped. Glad that he had the strength to do so because she sure as hell didn't, and sad because she couldn't stop her heart from wanting things to go further. But if they had, would things be weird now at this moment? Would they get together? Or would she just feel like something that was being used?

She uses the heels of her hands to put pressure at her temples, willing away the headache that was coming. She didn't need this pain. She didn't need the hurt of something like this would cause if they did leave, if he did. She was already so attached to them, so dependent on them being around to keep away the memories. She was cherishing the ones they were giving her right now because she already knew just how precious memories were, how precious people were. She had lost so many people already that were close to her. She didn't know if she would remain sane if they left.

But at the same time, she knew they weren't from here. They had lives to live in their own time, people who were cherished there. People who were important to them there. She knew of Ezio's mother and sister, of Leo's students. She knew about Rebecca and Lucy for both Shaun and Desmond, Desmond felt he owed Lucy for saving him while Shaun (deep down in his heart) felt the same about Rebecca. Altair and Malik had their duties they needed to preform, people who needed to be rescued and killed.

Alex had his sister Dana.

And she, she had no one anymore. She would be alone again.

Megan fights back the tears that wanted to fall, that wanted to blind her sight, were making her eyes burn from fighting them. She didn't need to break down today or any other day. For now, they were here. For how long she would find out. She knew they had stopped looking mostly, there was only so much they could do by looking up things or reading books in the library or whatever else they had been doing. Megan rubs her eyes, getting rid of the evidence of her near crying fit. The men didn't know what to do with her when she cried and she couldn't blame them on it. Things like that were difficult. She grabs her book and the bath things and was about to go into the bathroom when her door opens gently and Alex slips inside. She pauses, watching him as he closes the door quietly and turns towards her. He pauses in surprise.

"I… thought you were sleeping…" He starts pausing before finding the words he wanted to use. She shrugs.

"Thought about it." Her voice sounded a little croaky to herself, possibly from fighting the tears, and she hoped he didn't notice. He nods.

"… I didn't want to give you my gift infront of the others." This got her attention. She sets her goodies down on the dresser beside the bathroom door and walks over to him, her steps quiet. He seemed to get more nervous the closer she got. She was right infront of him when she stops less than arms-length away. She waits for him to talk once more, noticing him swallowing before speaking.

Actually he doesn't speak. Instead he pulls her close to him and his lips crash down upon hers. It takes her a moment to realize just what he was doing but she responds by moving her mouth against his, her lips molding to his. Their breathes mingle when they stop, breathing hard and gasping for air as if they had been drowning. She finds herself against the door, when that happened she wasn't sure. And she really didn't mind if she thought about it, which he didn't give her time to do. Once more his lips were against hers, her skin feeling as if it were on fire as his fingers ghost over her clothing.

Her brain had officially shut down and she wasn't complaining, not that she could think of anything other than his lips and fingers and his chest pressed oh so strongly against her. Her legs wrapped around his narrow hips and her arms around his neck, fingers playing with the soft curls of his hair. She loved the feel of his hair she decided when they stopped once more for breath. His forehead rests against hers as he gives a breathy laugh.

"My gift is a relationship, if you'll have it."

Her eyes open slowly, when they had closed she couldn't remember, and she looks at him from under her eyelashes. Her answer should be pretty obvious right now. He was watching her, judging how she would react to his statement. She gives him a soft, true smile as she plants one chaste kiss on his lips followed by another and another that lasted a little longer and another one that lasted even longer. This time when the blood was able to oxygenate her gray matter she found herself moved from the door to the bed, firmly placed underneath him and her gifts pushed so far over they threatened to fall off. He gives a chuckle, once more breathless. She didn't even know how she was conscious by the way she was sucking in air. Her lungs were burning deliciously from the deprivation.

"I guess that's a yes." She gives a small giggle, one he found downright sexy (hell after Seattle there was hardly anything he couldn't describe her doing without the word sexy infront of it, even reading she looked like a minx). He presses his lips once more to her swollen ones, something he felt deep down stirring and growling with approval of. The giggle continues with each peck he gives her all over her face before commandeering them once more.

* * *

The Assassins and Painter were huddled around Megan's door, ears pressed against it. Judging from the noises, nothing they deemed too fast because they still felt the need to protect her as their little sister, which just sounded like two people making out; they quietly sneak back downstairs before speaking to one another.

"I do not like this. It will be painful if we leave and she has these feeling built up for him. For any of us." Altair says, taking the rather beautiful empty leather tome the girl had given him in hand. The first page had the words _'Write your hope, thoughts, and dreams in side'_ in a curly cursive he had seen her use every once in a while. Desmond frowns at him, picking up the trash with Ezio and Mal who held open the trash bag. Shaun turns to him along with Leonardo, the two of them putting away the things they had used to make lunch with. Both give him a withered look. They had already had this fight several times before but Shaun had one piece of information he didn't have before.

And he had a feeling that none of them were going to like it.

"There is no going home." He blurts out, wanting to nip this in the bud. He didn't need a headache today. Everyone turns to him, Leonardo and Desmond with wide eyes while the other three had dark looks.

"Explain." Malik commands, the tone all business. He wasn't dealing with just the calm Malik anymore, no now he had The Bureau leader and the former Assassin that could give Altair a run for his money. The Brit takes a deep breath.

"I've looked into everything I can. There appears to be no way for us, or him, to return. We're stuck." He pushes his glasses up his nose as they had slid down. Everyone goes quiet.

* * *

"Are you almost done?" Alex questions loudly, the door to her bathroom shut firmly and locked. She had kept her date with her bathtub and bubble bath, her book resting comfortably in her hands. She really liked Lestat. He had been self-serving in Interview with a Vampire, how Louis explained him and Louis' thoughts on why he did certain things gave one an idea of who this vampire was but this book, oh this book, gave detail to how he thought about things. And his ravings had given her more than one chuckle. But Alex was apparently bored and tired of waiting on her to get out. She still couldn't wrap her head around what had happened. He had offered her a relationship and she took it.

And the man could kiss. Her lips tingled with excitement as she thought about his against hers. She could kiss him whenever she wanted and he could now do the same. They didn't need to go any further than that right now because just making out for 5 minutes could turn her into goo. Her hormones were doing flips in joy. She didn't want to think about what other secret talents the man had…

Okay, she was lying to herself with that but she didn't need to get ahead of herself at this moment. They were just starting out.

"5 more minutes!" She answers, chuckling when she hears him groan. He was getting impatient and she didn't want to push his buttons to much. She kinda did, just to see how he would get back at her but then again she didn't. They had time to figure things like this out. She marks her place in her book and get out, wrapping a fluffy blue towel around her and drains the tub. She dries off and changes into a tank and shorts, keeping her hair up. It had been bothering her, causing her headaches from the weight but she refused to get it cut. She exits the bathroom and races over to the bed, leaping onto the bouncy mattress. The man, who had waited for her, pulls her against him and plants a kiss on her lips. Her smile threatened to crack her face from pure happiness.

* * *

Alright, I couldn't stop this one from coming out. It practically wrote itself in fact. And now we have the pairing! Its Alex/OC, or Alex/Megan. I didn't want to announce it right off the bat and get hate for it. I wanted to flesh Megan out and have her actually have a place with the characters. If you have a problem with the fact that I have done and Character/OC, sorry. This is my story and this is how I want it to go. It's AU. Its fiction.

Now I want to give a big thanks to Calinde for faving and following! Thank you so much, you have no idea what it means to me!

As always I want to thank anyone who reviews my story.

**MoonlitMeeting**: Yosh, Desmond and Ezio are fun to abuse. They just ask for it. XD And I am glad you enjoyed the Alex/Megan moment. There was another in this chapter if you didn't catch it. It was just a little part. Lol

**Pheonix-164**: I know the last chapter had some good ones, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. As for evil plotting, you'll have to wait. Probably not for very long with the way I seem to put chapters out. And truthfully, I was worried I was rushing the chapters and the Character Development. But I'm glad you think its going so well.

**Raychaell Dionzeros**: Don't worry, your idea will be coming soon. Just give me a little time. Also, when people give you weird looks smile at them. They tend to stop XD And crazy people are the best, all of my friends are crazy and I wouldn't change them for anyone. They keep my life interesting. And I'm so glad you love this story as much as you do. You're reviews make me feel a little better. But all reviews do. And faves. And follows. And alerts... Well just about anything does. Lol

Well here's another chapter out less than 48 hours after I had posted chapter 9. I had tried to get it out on Valentine's but I had went to go see _'Mama'_ with my sisters. It was a good scary movie. Ending was confusing but definitely a good scary one. But as with the last 23 years, I was with the single side of the world on Valentine's. But I'm not going to complain! Happy be-lated Valentine's day to all my readers.

As always, I enjoy feedback of any kind! You can review, fave, follow, e-mail, or pm me! Thank you all!

_*walks away*_

_*runs back*_

Oh, wait, just a question. Do you guys think I should make Connor appear? I've kinda been debating on it but I'm on the fence. I have like 2 more sequences on ACIII and then I'm finished but I don't know if I have Connor's character down. He's a bit of an oddity, don't y'all think?

-Edit-

I have a poll up on my homepage thingy. I'll give it like two weeks before I make my decision on if I will or will not.


	11. No Roads Left

Megan stares at Altair, he wanted her to do what?

"Do it again. But slower." She says as he sighs and retrieves some of the throwing knives he had gotten her for Christmas. He takes a stance, which she mimics, and shows her the wrist flicking thing slowly several times without throwing the blade before actually doing it. He hits it dead on the bull's eye. Megan takes a breath, practicing the move a few times before doing it. She hits the deck with the blade, not even getting it to stick in the wood. She frowns frustrated and gives a defeated sigh. She was blaming the gloves she was wearing because the Arab wasn't wearing any and he could hit it. She could also see him fighting the laughter that wanted to burst forth. He clears his throat.

"Let's continue this tomorrow." He says, his voice forced to be even. She hangs her head in defeat. This was the 5th day in a row that he was stopping them so early. She almost hoped she wasn't going to have to get Ezio to teach her like the man had joked about. That would be embarrassing to her, going from the grand master to what was considered a novice. She knew Desmond, from what they had explained to her about the ranking of the order, was a real novice but Altair thought of the three of them as novices and he included Shaun in this.

She follows him inside, warming her fingers as she does. They had to go around the outer part of the kitchen before they made it to the sliding door and inside. Sometimes she wondered why the builders had made a porch like this in Washington but then forgets it. She hadn't asked when she bought it so why would she start now?

"How did she do?" The Italian Assassin questions and Alty says nothing. Megan's dejected sigh apparently gives him his answer. "That bad?"

"No, she has the form down. Which is more than most trainees get down in so few days." Megan's head snaps to the man in surprise as she pulls off her jacket, gloves, scarf, shoes, and hat. He complimented her?

"Really?" He nods. "YES!" She bounces happily in place as he gives her a small smile. She had noticed that the Assassins seemed to be trying to keep something from her, something that was bothering them. But she wouldn't bother them with it. If they wanted her to know about it, they would tell her.

"But you have no strength behind your throwing." And she stops bouncing, a pout coming onto her face as the Arab takes a seat beside the Italian.

"But she is a girl, it is expected."

Wait, what?

She cocks her hip to the left and crosses her arms under her black long sleeve shirt covered bust. That was uncalled for. Alex sees her look and migrates over to her with a cup of hot chocolate. She keeps her gaze on the two causing her ire for a few more seconds before the smell of the chocolate liquid under her nose draws her attention away from them and to her boyfriend. She smiles in appreciation and walks over to the couch, pulling him along with her. She snuggles up against his side and takes a drink of the scalding liquid after blowing on it to cool it as much as possible. His arm comes around her shoulders to rest on her knee, both of which were pulled up on the couch.

"Thank you." She tells him, resting her head on his shoulder as best she could. The man was still bigger than her even if he was sitting. She recognized the slight irony of it, he being the large tough man and she being the small dainty female. But that wasn't what attracted her to him. It was his kindness and trueness that got her. She couldn't handle fake people and she was glad that they all were allowing her into who they were. Their true personalities were what made them interesting and what she loved about them all. Yes she loved them but not in the way she felt about Alex, her love for them was as a sister loves a brother. And to her, the Assassins were her brothers. Ezio had joked and said she was their sister and so they would have to watch out for her, to keep her from harm both physical and emotional.

"Oh get a room." Desmond says as he, Leo, Shaun, and Malik come into the living room from upstairs. She sticks her tongue out at them at him which he returns just as, if not more, childishly at her. She hands over her cup, grabs a pillow, and tosses it at him which he catches. "Not bad, getting stronger. Used to not be able to make it this far." He tells her as he tosses the pillow from hand to hand, walking over to the couch. He plops down causing the springs to creak in protest. She pokes him in the side.

"You're getting too fat to keep doing that. It'll break my couch." He swats her hand away, rubbing her head affectionately afterwards.

"Atleast I eat good here."

* * *

"I wanna go do something.." Megan says a little while later. They were upstairs in her room watching AFV. She was hanging upside down at the end of her bed with her head and arms hanging off the end; her face was becoming a shade of red that they knew meant she needed to right herself soon or she would be getting a pounding headache. Shaun scoffs.

"What do you want to do, go play in the snow?"

She rights herself, turning to face him on the floor. She remains quiet for a moment. "I wanna go bowling."

Everyone pauses for a second before looking at her.

"You… wanna go bowling?" Desmond questions incredulously. She nods.

"I haven't gone bowling in a long time." She shrugs. "So I wanna go bowling."

Malik frowns. "What is bowling?"

This time it was the younger crowd of Alex, Des, Megan, and Shaun who give the older crowd a surprised look.

"Ah, the smell of floor wax." Megan laughs as she sits down, pulling off her shoes to put on the rented pair of full on leather shoes. She had changed clothes, mostly because of the fact that she had changed into pajamas and had tossed her clothes from earlier into the dirty clothes hamper. She now wore a pale blue v neck shirt with tight stone washed skinny jeans and her jacket rested on the back of her chair. The rest follow suit, except Alex who didn't want to play. He had told her outside, letting the rest go in before them, that he didn't want to break anything. He did tell her to kick the rest of the men's asses. She had already hunted down a bowling ball, a neon green 5 pounder. She couldn't wait for the blackout thing to begin because the older Assassins had yet to learn of the awesomeness that it is the black light. She was going to have to remember to get one.

"Yeah, smells like sweaty old men." Desmond jibes with a pointed look at Altair, Ezio, and Malik. The three give him a rather withered look. Shaun had already gotten his shoes on and picked out his bowling ball, a gray and black freckled one, and was sitting at the machine to put their names in. Megan notices.

"Hey! Not our real ones. Put.. Lynx in for my name." He gives her a flat look before doing as requested. "Eagle for Alty, Hawk for Ezzy, Arty for Leo, Lefty for Mal, and Chicken for Des." Des then shoots her a dirty look which she smiles at. Once done he looks at her for his new nickname. "Um, Trololo for you." This gets a grin from the Brit. Once done he stands up and motions for Des to go first. He gets lined up, takes three steps, and lets go of the orange ball down the lane. Halfway down it rolls quickly into the right gutter. All those who were playing fight the snickers that want to escape. He shoots them a dirty look before grabbing the ball out of the thingy that returns them. He repeats the actions and only knocks down 4 pins.

"My turn." Megan sing-songs happily, and right as she lines up the lanes all darken and the black lights turn on. Her shirt blazed a bright blue-ish white color and her jeans lit up as well. She turns around to find the older era men looking at not only at their clothing but one another. Ezio's shirt was what she would call a SpongeBob yellow shirt, which previously had been a nice pale yellow color. Leo's shirt blazed white, near burning her retinas at the intensity. The wording on Alty's shirt were a green color, spelling out that he was employee of the month. Mal now looked like an orangesicle, a big bright neon orangesicle. Des, Alty, and Ezzy's eyes also glowed and so did Alex's. She returns to the lane, a gleeful smile on her face as she hears them talking.

The scores looked like this: in the lead was Megan (who was showing off her talent of being able to get strikes and spares one right after another), after her was Shaun who was able to make several strikes and just as many spares, after him was actually Malik who had gotten the game down rather quickly and was getting a spare or strike peppered in. The rest were only a few points apart from one another, someone knocking down enough pins to get ahead of the others before someone would beat them out.

Alex returns to his seat with another Smirnoff for Megan. He was surprised, the more she drank the better she would get. He had to admit he was damn proud of his girl for showing them that she could beat them at something and do it while getting inebriated. She gives him a quick kiss as thanks and takes a swig of her beer as Alty tries to get a strike but gutter balls for the second time.

"There are blockers we can put up for you guys if you want. Guaranties you hit a few of the balls or could even help you get strikes." She grins at Des, Ezzy, and Alty who shoot her dirty looks at the comment, Altair just sitting down and Leo getting up. The painter pauses and turns to Shaun who was still sitting at the machine.

"Could you please do so?" He asks and Shaun nods, hitting a few buttons and the racks come up causing the man to smile with delight. Shaun turns to the others who wave him off. He shrugs and turns back to the lane as a loud crash alerts them to Leo's bowl. He had managed to knock down near half of the pins and was waiting rather eagerly for his pink bowling ball. Megan laughs as the other men hang their heads in shame. She catches Shaun's rather evil grin before he puts the blockers up on their turns.

In the end, Megan had won. And she also won the next game too but the game after she lost because she had drank to much and ended up drunk. She has currently sitting in Alex's lap in the middle seat of her Expedition and so Shaun was now having to drive the hour long drive back to the house. She was relaxed and loose, the alcohol having turned her body to something like jelly. She would giggle every so often, her face buried in Alex's neck and the man's jacket draped over her shoulders.

"Desmond sucks at bowling…" She giggle whispers to him and Alex had to bite his tongue to not laugh. The youngest descendant had come in last every game, even with the blockers.

* * *

"Alex… Alex…" Megan reaches behind her, patting Alex's arm; it was three nights later after the bowling fiasco. Something was making a noise and she didn't want to deal with it. She was to tired, not to mention she really wasn't sure if she was just hearing things. The last time that happened she got a nose full of chloroform and free trip to Seattle while being kidnapped.

Yeah, she didn't want a repeat.

She pats him a few more times before an intelligent 'huh' is uttered. She rolls her eyes. "Something is downstairs." She all but whispers to him. His silver-blue eyes stare at her groggily, not comprehending. At this moment, she wondered just how he was the most feared man where he came from. Cause he looked to her like a complete and utter pushover. She figured a _kitten_ could take him down with one tiny fuzzy paw tied behind its back.

He was still giving her that uncomprehending look after two minutes.

She sighs and then a particularly loud thud causes them to jump and him to wake completely. A gentle knock at her door alerts her seconds before it opens and something flies over to her side of the bed. The bright blonde mop of hair is her only indication as to who it was before the blankets were pulled up and a body collided against hers in a death grip. Her eyes widen and she wheezes out a, "Leo!"

She feels more than sees him nod. She could also hear the low growl being emitted behind her. _'Oh god..'_ She thinks before twisting her head to give him a withered look and awkwardly pat the other man on what she could only hope was his back.

The growl behind her continues.

"Leo? What's wrong?" She questions in a gentle voice. She hears him whimper and his grip tightens on her person, he wasn't leaving her much room to breath. She had to think of something or else Alex just might throw the man out of the room. She makes a soothing noise when the man squeezing her begins to shake and after a few minutes he stops and even loosens his grip. Eventually, with Alex growling in the background still, Leo looks at her with terrified blue eyes. "What's wrong?" She repeats.

"Zombie…"

She forces herself not to roll her eyes. Damn Altair and Malik. She had been joking when she said that they should watch the Resident Evil movies as a marathon; instead the two had jumped up (apparently having been wanting to watch the films for a while and just didn't want to do so by themselves) and they had piled into Megan and Alex's room, he had abandoned the room he was first given right after New Year's and moved into her room because he pretty much had already migrated his things into it, with snacks and soda's and many other different things as well. In the end the only people not scared were Megan, Alex, and Desmond though Shaun argued that he hadn't been scared by it in the least but Megan had caught him hiding behind a pillow more than once. It actually had been funny because Alex had gotten up to go get something more to drink for both him and her and when he had returned, Megan was sandwiched between Ezio and Leo on one side and Malik and Altair on the other, the three Assassins flinching and ducking behind Megan when the Licker kidnapped the little girl on the last of the movies and the Alice woman had to fight it. They apparently didn't like the Lickers.

Alex could practically smell their fear.

Alex right now wanted to kill the famous painter. Not only was he to close to what was his but so blatantly clinging to her as if his life depended on it. He was fighting the darker urge if only for her sake. He knew that the man wasn't trying to take what was his but damn if his instincts didn't say otherwise.

Megan could only guess what was going on in Alex's mind but she was glad he had stopped growling, she didn't think that was helping the blonde man any.

She gives a sigh. "Leo, we talked this over before. There is no such thing as zombies. It's not real." She says carefully, as if explaining this to a small child. He looks up at her slowly, digesting the words. She nods at him, somewhere in her mind thanking whatever deity that the bangs had stopped. Unfortunately, as soon as this though crossed her mind…

BANG!

CRASH!

And the sound of something shattering is heard. Megan's eyes widen and she clings to Leo who does the same. Both make a feared noise as they sit up and stare at the door, Alex doing the same but not so fearfully.

"What was that?" Leo questions in a stutter.

"I don't know…" Megan answers in a whisper. She turns to Alex, all three now wide awake and not going to sleep anytime soon, and motions for him to go check it out. The look he gives her in return said something along the lines of _Are-you-insane-I'm-not-going-down-there._

Suddenly her room was filled with people who were all hiding in various positions and with weapons out and ready. The only thought that came to mind was, _'I am so safe with all these people in here…'_ somewhat sarcastically. Megan lets go of Leo, who doesn't return the favor, and she gets behind Alex with Leo behind her. Everything was quiet. Nothing moved.

'_How was it they could stay so still?'_ She questions to herself at an indeterminable amount of time. Her legs were going numb, her feet already had the pins and needles feeling. She could feel Alex almost vibrating beneath her hands. She could see everyone looking at one another, as if silently communicating something between themselves. They all stand as one the Assassins and Alex, Megan and Leo scrambling with the man, and take a step with him every time he took one. Once they reach the door, Alex reaches back and places his hand on her stomach effectively halting her and Leo's ascendance. Now Megan gives him a quizzical look when he turns back to her and puts him finger to his lips and points to the spot where she was standing. She gives him a pout at this and he rolls his eyes and leaves the room. She didn't even hear them walking around.

She was going to have to get Altair to teach her how to do that along with throwing knives and fighting and many other different things. She also needed to remember to look up foods that she could make for the two. Italian was pretty well known but Arabic was another story. But she puts that to the back of her mind and takes two steps out into the hallway before being pulled back into her room by the painter still attached to her. She shrugs off his hands and quickly goes down the stairs and stands behind the banister, looking into the gloom of her living room. She jumps when someone touches her shoulder and whirls to face them. Silver blue eyes stare back at her and the front door closes shut.

"I told you to stay in the room." Alex whispers to her, an edgy tone to his voice.

"Yeah I know but I didn't want anything to happen to you guys and me not know so I couldn't call the cops or something." She whispers back. She feels Alex take one of her hands, the room was so dark she couldn't believe it, and leads her into the living room.

"If you're going to be stubborn, stick with me." He answers after a minute. He opens the door to her study and peers inside, and stands absolutely still. She wouldn't know he was breathing had her hands not been on his back and feeling it expand with each breath. He shuts the door and turns to her, eyes darting around before pulling her into a hug. She knew that this was just reminding him of what happened back nearly a year ago. It was already affecting her but she was fighting the urge to jump at every shadow. He seemed to be fighting it just as much as she was, only because she was down there. She was sure if there was a danger to her he would get her out before it would harm her.

The sliding door to the backyard opens and in steps the Assassin's. They shake off the snow that had fallen on them from their excursion and Megan finds herself waiting to see what they had found or didn't find.

"There were tracks but they disappeared somehow." Desmond reports.

"Looks like whoever it was is either lost or unsure of where they are." Shaun says as well, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

Megan finds herself releasing a held breath. "Do you think it's going to be a problem?"

The Assassins look at one another, Malik had walked over to the light switch by the sliding door to close it and turn the lights on, and seem to have a silent conversation. "No, it doesn't look like they were wanting anything." Altair says in response. Megan's brow furrows.

"And if they freeze to death?"

"We'll find the person or persons before that happens." Mal answers her, a smile on his face. After a moment or two she nods.

"Anything taken?"

"Eh, food, water, a blanket, a few other little things." Ezio answers her, moving over to the couch. The sun was just starting to make the sky turn pale blue and pink. The snow was still falling and the gloom was disappearing. The others filter to different areas, mainly to the kitchen. Megan follows them and Alex is pulled along with her.

"So survival stuff?" She says as she gets Alex to sit down and she sits in his lap. The chill of outside had gotten to her and she didn't want to be cold anymore. Well really she wanted to cuddle but the other would be the answer she would give if asked. The nods she receives are their responses, Desmond and Altair cover their yawns and she could see the others fighting their own. They were all tired, herself and Alex included. "Do we even want to start coffee or just go back to sleep?"

"Sleep." Was the chorus.

* * *

Megan didn't want to get out of her bathroom, the warm bubble bath was too inviting and her book far to interesting. She was home alone and was happy. She needed a little me time and, dare she say it, girl time. She needed to pamper herself and with the guys here, Alex even included in this though she did enjoy being around her boyfriend, it made things a little difficult. They didn't quite understand it, especially the oldest Assassins who think that everything must have a reason and to just do something to do it is strange. She found that their way of relaxing wasn't really relaxing. It was more stress.

But back to the book. She kept giggling, Lestat's internal monologue was getting to the point of her wanting to drown from laughter. It was definitely one of her favorites from Ann Rice but would never beat out Interview. Suddenly she hears something downstairs making noise. There shouldn't be anything downstairs. She puts her book down split page and listens. The noise was gone. She waits and doesn't move, fearing the sloshing noise would alert whoever it was to where she was. This was not a good thing.

She swallows her saliva, nervousness causing her to imagine hearing things. She was alone and the metal bat was by her door in her room meaning she was defenseless. She hears her door to her room open with a near quiet click and soft foot falls crossing the threshold of her room. The doorknob begins to turn and…

* * *

Alright guys here's the newest chapter. I know I left it at a cliffhanger but that is for a purpose. Remember, I don't know if I wanna put Connor in the story or not and the next chapter **_will not_** be posted until the poll is over and I wont be taking that down for like another week.

But I wanna thank my newest follower mirageparty!

And now for the reviews:

**Elementi3197**: Aveline huh? I haven't got to play her yet (mainly because I don't have a PSVita *pouts*). But I will look on youtube for playthroughs so I can understand who she is. But I will keep this suggestion! And yes, Girl Power! *feels like a Spice Girl* lol

**Raychaell Dionzeros**: I'm sorry, my two younger siblings kinda do the same. They just don't understand. But thank you for the review and I'm glad you love this story as much as you love your books!

**Pheonix-164**: The Assassins are trying but Megan has gotten to know them and has figured out some of the really, really subtle hints on what their feeling. So she does know that something is bothering them, just not what. As for Ezio, he's rather hard headed. And I'm glad you think the first year they've been together has wrapped up so nicely. And I do want to bring him in, if not only to see his "innocence" as you put it be rather... shattered by the bluntness of not only Ezio but the others. And thank you for calling this fantastic writing!

Now as I was saying, I do have the the poll at the very top of my homepage just under my name. You can vote, I think, how ever many times you want. I would love those votes to come in and you can even leave it as a review if you don't want to vote. I will take those into account as well.

As always, you can review, follow, fave, pm, or e-mail me. My e-mail is on my homepage as well. Thank you all!


	12. No More Sorrow

-bangs head against table- I am so, so sorry! Things just got hectic here. We got our apartment, and now were trying to get things moved from Texas to Mississippi. And on top of that, we have to start out from scratch on all of our furniture. So I have to by a bed and that doesn't mean the whole bed, might just be the mattress.

Like I said though with the update thingy I posted a couple days ago, it might be a while before I get another chapter out. I will be trying to get past it. This is the real chapter 12 though. Its about 400 words short of 4,000, without my authors notes.

Please enjoy the chapter!

* * *

The door opens and a white covered head peeks through the opening, sweeping back and forth before settling on her naked form covered by the bubbles in the bathtub. Megan's face turns red as she sinks further down in the soapy water. The man stares at her for a few seconds more before he rips his head out of the doorway, hitting his cranium rather hard on the doorframe, and she hears a loud thump followed by what she could only guess as cursing and him groaning.

The door was still open.

Thinking about it, the hood looked eerily similar to not only Altair's hood but Ezio's as well from the outfits they first showed up in a year ago. Megan, worried about the man despite her not knowing if he was a danger to her wellbeing or not, decides that the best thing would be just to see if he was alright. So when she opens her mouth the door slams shut the man's groaning still being heard. Well, he had some form of decency then. Unsure Megan grabs her towel off the rack beside the tub, wraps it tightly around her person, pulls the stopper to the drain, dries off, and gets dressed in less than 2 minutes. Taking a deep breathe she opens the door and finds him sitting up against the bed with his hood down and head in his hands. He had a dark skin color, not black or white or a combination of them but maybe Native American perhaps?, and his hair was about shoulder length and half was put up with braids ended in beads (which gave more credit to her thinking him a Native). He seemed to be solidly built but she didn't know if it was because of the amount of layers or if that was just the way he was.

She crosses the space quietly, her bare feet sinking into the carpet, and kneels down beside him; biting and chewing on her bottom lip she wonders if she should touch him. He seemed to be in pain and, her being female (despite all of Des and Ezzy's whining that she enjoyed causing them pain), didn't want others be hurt around her. She knew it was the mother in her, the instinct that caused her heart to race and her feet to bring her to the place of the child or person and to nurture and cause harm to the one or thing that caused harm.

"You okay?" She questions softly, carefully placing her hands over his and removing them so she could see. His fingers felt callused but she attributed that to the bow and arrows strapped to his back. She saw the tomahawk and really old pistols belted to either of his sides but she puts that to the back of her mind, he was hurt and she doubted he would harm someone who was helping him. He had scraped the side of his head causing beads of blood to well up and she could feel the knot forming underneath that. She chews on her lips some more and then stands while turning around to face the bathroom. She could feel his eyes on her form and it just caused the little hairs on the back of her neck to raise. She goes into the bathroom, grabs the peroxide and a clean washcloth, and returns to her room to kneel down beside him. She shows him the brown bottle. He eyes it warily and she resists the urge to roll her eyes at him. She pours a little on the cloth, tilts his head so she could see the scrape, and gently daps at it. It bubbles up, fizzing as it cleaned, and she watches it to make sure it didn't get near his hair. That was all she needed, his hair to white out and him to freak.

She holds back the laughter this caused her. She had tried it once and it had hilarious results. But she puts that to the back of her mind and cleans off the peroxide, drying it off and seeing if the blood welled up again. When it did she cleaned it off and when it finally stopped, she sits back with a smile on her face. The man looked at her, pulls his hood up, and stands. She scrambles to her feet. The man towered over her, like the others did so that was nothing new, but he seemed more… unsure she guessed. Like he didn't know how to act around her.

"'m Megan." She says, holding out her hand. He looks between it and her face, which has a small smile on it. He nods to her and she drops her hand. Maybe he was going to be a tougher cookie than what she thought, the others had accepted her rather quickly and… That actually might have been due to her boyfriend having broken her arm and thus proving she was no danger to them.

Huh. Several good somethings had come from that.

"Ratonhnhaké:ton."

"Uh…" How the hell did he expect her to say that!? She now had no doubt about him being Native American. He sighs, as if he had gone through this before.

"You may call me Connor." His English was… proper to say in the least but was also hollow, as if he had to think about what he was saying before he said it. There was no real emotion in his voice, well there was when he gave her what she assumed was his name the first time, but the English was false or non-existent. But she gives his a small smile, and takes in his appearance; a white jacket and hood, the bow and quiver strapped over his chest from his left shoulder to his right hip, the jacket was lined with blue on the edges outside and inside, a white buttoned shirt, a red sash across his waist with the assassin symbol tied over it, blue pants, and leather boots that went half-way up his thighs. She nods in understanding.

"Um… are you hungry?" She questions him after a few moments, if only to break the awkward silence, and she swore he was surprised. She motions for him to go first and then once more to the stairs. She follows behind him and good grief! How much did the man weigh? Her stairs didn't creak this bad even with Alex walking down them. Then again, they could be getting worn down by the men living here.

Pushing the thoughts aside she takes the lead, heading around the bar and pulling out cold cuts, bread, tea, and chips for something easy to make. She didn't know if _**he**_ knew what it was but she really felt lazy to tell the truth. After throwing a sandwich together for him and putting it infront of him (of which he looks at strangely before taking a bite) she made herself one, all bet more chips than sandwich. She stands against the counter, waiting rather patiently with the bar acting like a barrier. While she didn't think it would be much help if he really wanted to get to her, it still gave her some semblance of safety.

"Why does the dog talk?"

"Because he's Scooby-Doo. And he's a cartoon character. Anything happens during a cartoon." Megan answers for the fifth time. She had gotten bored and ended up looking up a Scooby-Doo movie and once it started, so did the questions. It was kind of annoying really. He had no understanding of the world he was now a part of. And she had no one else around to help her ease him into it. With the older Assassins, Shaun and Des had taken care of it. The only time she ever had to do anything was when either of them weren't around and it was simple, like pushing buttons on the microwave or using the toaster. Now it was just her.

"That does not make sense." He scoots over, closer to her and into her personal bubble. She twitches slightly and goes to push him out of the way. Instead, her computer is removed from her lap and she is pushed face first into the floor. Her arm was twisted behind her back, not painfully but so she couldn't move, and his weight was being used for the same purpose.

Unfortunately for her, and him, the other men in her life decided to come in right then and freeze when they see the position she was in. Then, all hell broke loose. Alex used his Whip fist to get a hold of her, after Alty and Des tackled Connor off of her, and removed her from the tangle of arms and legs and teeth. It was actually comical and she half expected to have a cloud of dust well up and obscure then, instead she just watch entranced by the fray. Eventually though she does get annoyed with it, after only seconds, and either has two choices; to walk away and allow them to continue or get them to stop somehow. Sighing, she puts her hands on her hips and yells, "STOP IT!"

All movement ceases.

Staring at the intricate knot of bodies tangled together, faces staring in bewilderment and confusion and even innocence (Leo, who was a pacifist at heart, was giving this look and made her nearly burst out in laughter) and she realizes that she has somehow, in a rather saddened way, pretty much adopted overgrown children (though these children could easily over power just about anyone). This didn't bother her but what did was the fact that they were acting like children who had their favorite toy taken away. Quickly they arrange into a line, each with a rather sheepish face. Connor was included, with a little blush to go with it.

"What are you doing?"

"Bu-He was-he was _**on top**_ of you." Des says, pointing at Connor who shoots him a dirty look. Megan taps her foot twice catching his attention and returns to looking at her. Alex watches her intently, eyes burning for her attention. He was not amused that she had been entertaining some weirdo.

Megan scoffs. "It wasn't his fault. I went to push him out of my bubble and he reacted." She shrugged. The other men looked between Connor and Megan, eventually coming to the conclusion that she was telling the truth.

"Assassin?" Altair questions him, crossing his arms over his chest. Connor looks taken aback by the question, going so far as too give him a rather nasty look. Altair chuckles, shaking his head and walking to the kitchen. Connor shoots Megan a look.

"That's just Alty for ya. He's the 'Master'." She does the air quotes and ducks the plastic ladle tossed at her. She looks between it and him, laughing. "Holy shit, I did it!"

"Very well done. Now we move on to the metal one." She groans and puts her head in her hands. Alex walks over and wraps her in his arms, shooting the Native a look that told him the girl belonged to him, before moving her to the couch. He closes the lid to her laptop and moves it, sitting and pulling her into his lap.

"Did you have fun today?" He questions softly to her. She smiles.

"Are they like that all the time?" Connor questions taking a seat at the bar. He hadn't yet decided if he really trusted these people or not, but for now he would. The man she called 'Alty' snorts.

"She may call me that name but it is Altair Ibn-La'Ahad child. And yes, they are like that. The relationship is still new." Connor's look darkens when Altair calls him a child. He was not a child.

"Names Desmond, she calls me Des. It's the puppy stage, though not really so puppy-ish." The young man with short-ish brown hair says a smile on his face as he looks over to the girl.

"So, what year are you from?" A blonde questions him, digging through shelves and pulling out things.

"Why?"

Another of the men chuckles as he sits down beside Connor while a one armed man does the same on the opposite side, a red head taking a set just after him. "Leonardo, please. He's confused and doesn't trust us. Give him time." He then turns to Connor. "I am Ezio Auditore da Firenze." He says with flourish, accent changing. In fact, Altair and Leonardo had accents unlike the Colonials. "He is Malik and that is Shaun."

Malik nods at him, taking the cup offered by Leonardo. Shaun seemed more inclined to hackle Desmond and ignore Connor, but upon hearing his accent Connor lets loose an inhuman snarl. Everyone looks at him confused.

"Uh, that was… weird." Megan comments.

"You, Templar sc-"

"He isn't a Templar." Comes the chorus from all of the men and the woman interrupting his rant.

"Hey Connor, where are ya staying?" Connor looks at the woman in surprise, completely forgetting what he had been about to rant about.

"Uh- Out there." He points to the white world outside.

"You live in the woods!?" Leonardo questions loudly, nearly dropping the wooden spoon he was using to cook with. Connor nods.

"Not no more. There's a spare room here and I know I couldn't live with myself if you were to freeze to death." Megan says, a frown marring her features.

"No it is fine. I ha-"

"No arguments. Go get whatever and be back in an hour." Megan says while making shooing motions with her hands for him to go and do as told which he does.

"You have a strange power to get Assassins to do as you say." Mal comments, turning in his chair to observe her. She shrugs.

"I'm a girl, what do you expect?"

When Connor returns, Megan was being chased by Ezio. They were laughing so he assumed it was some kind of play, though he didn't enjoy being used as a barrier by the woman. And her clothes, they were men's clothing. He was going to question her about it and why she wasn't being supervised by a family member when she was so enamored with that man. There was an obvious age gap but these white men had different rules concerning things like this.

Once the girl moves away, dancing under outstretched fingers reaching for her, he sets his things down beside the door. His attention focuses on her. "Where are your parents?"

The one question causes everyone to stop and stare. They had gotten some of the answer to the question a few days before Christmas but the curiosity was still there. The girl's posture changes, like she was curling in on herself. She sits down on the couch hard, tucking away into the corner of it. Connor immediately regrets voicing this question, the pain it caused her seemed to be rather painful for her.

"Err, Megan?" Desmond ventures forward after several minutes she remains in the position she was in. Her head had even been tucked in between her knees which were pulled up to her chest.

"They died..." She whispers, the words barely able to make it past her self-made barriers.

"You think you could tell us… exactly what happened?" Shaun questions softly, kneeling beside her while Alex sits on the couch once more. Everyone else migrates over infront of her, taking seats on the floor. When Megan looks up and nods, tears gathered in her eyes but not fallen, does he join them on the floor.

"I was 20, lived on my own since I was 17. Before that I was living in Texas with my family; my two older brothers and my older sister had already moved out, gotten good jobs, married, stuff that adult's do. Our tradition was to always be together for the holidays but my book was coming out and I was already behind schedule. I had taken time off to go see my new little niece who had been born in June, almost 2 ½ months' time actually.

"My agent was hounding me, telling me that the story had to come out and to work through the night and just get it finished because I _**owed**_ it to the readers. My book before had ended open and this one was going to continue with that ending. I had tried to get them to come up for the holiday but they couldn't, saying other things had come up and this would be the first one I would be going through alone. I had really missed them and it was weird to think about it. It was probably the first time I had actually thought that moving so far away was a horrible idea.

"Little did I know my family was actually going to be coming up. They had gotten flights together and piled everyone onto a small aircraft. Halfway here they called me and told me that they were nearly here. You have no idea how happy I was to hear that. The phone got passed around to everyone, each telling me something or asking me something. The last one to talk to me was my 5 year old nephew. He was asking if it was snowing yet when I heard the alarms going off in the background. Someone was telling everyone to get their seat belts on."

She takes a shuddering breath, whipping away the tears that had started to fall but more just replaced them. Her voice chokes, fighting past sobs. "I heard them telling everyone to get into the crash position."

Alex pulls her against him. There was nothing he could do other than give her emotional support so she could continue. It was something she had been avoiding and this would help her with her grieving. "I could hear screaming, theirs and mine. And then there was nothing. The connection ended and I didn't know what to do. I don't know how long I stood there with the phone pressed against my ear.

"I called the FAA and told them what happened, that I had been on the line when it crashed. They asked me what the flight number was and when I couldn't tell them, they thought it was a joke. A couple days later they called me back and told me that there were no survivors. That they were investigating it. It was nearly a year after that they said there had been engine complications and it caused the plane to drop out of the sky."

"So, just like that you became an orphan." Desmond says and she nods, burying her face into Alex's side afterwards.

"That's… horrible." Leonardo says, his own heart aching because of the pain this girl had to go through. And to hear it all going on at the same time? She deserved everything to make up for it.

Malik and Altair exchange looks. This girl's life had changed so drastically, on just a simple thing.

"Bloody FAA. Their heartless." Shaun comments harshly, already making plans on just what he was going to use to get back at them for this.

* * *

It took some time but Megan got out of the funk mostly. It was several hours later, along with many explanations for Connor and him getting settled into his new room. Megan and Alex were relaxing in their room, the door shut and locked. She was curled up on her bed with a body pillow, waiting for Alex to finish with his shower. She didn't have to fake around him, he was willing to deal with her depressed mood. She didn't want to force this onto any of the other men.

And she didn't know what he thought about what she had said. It was just so **painful**; the wound now open once more, torn and raw and bleeding. She could hearing the screaming in her head and she didn't know if she would even be able to fall asleep. She curls up tighter around the pillow, trying to protect herself from something that had no form, that had no way to cause her physical harm but hurt just the same if not more.

Alex's hand coming to rest gently on her arms causes her to jump and flinch, turning quickly to hug him round the middle. His warmth was real, the feel of skin and muscle an anchor for her, a tether holding her emotions at bay. He waits a moment before prying her off so he could sit beside her and look into her eyes. He could see it, the pain and anguish and loss from just telling the tale.

"It's ok." He says and the gates open. The tears just spill over her lashes, making wet trails down her face to drip off her chin or continue further south to soak her shirt. Her sobs follow, the same ones that he had heard her give when they found her holding onto a box. It must have had something to do with her family for her to have had the reaction she did. He knew that it would take many, many years before the wound would heal enough for her not to break down crying but never completely heal.

When she wraps her arms around his neck, still sobbing and crying, he finds himself just _**hoping**_ that he didn't go back.

They were her new family.

* * *

Alright, Connor has now joined my brood of Assassin's. And you have not idea how hard it was to rope him into this. Lol.

But now we know what happened to Megan's family. I wanted to cry the entire time I was writing it. I really, really have a problem with causing self-made characters pain. Its horrible. But it was fun at the beginning, I was rolling laughing when I was writing it.

As always, I wanna thank anybody who has decided to review or fave or watch. I have 2 new followers and faves: Prihnex and Alexander J. Mercer. I got a laugh way to early in the morning when I read the emails saying you had faved and put me on your alert list.

And now for the Reviews!

**Prihnex**: I am so glad you like this story and find Megan likable. Its hard not to make her Mary-Sue and keep her based in real life.

**MoonlightMeeting**: Yeah, you would think they would but they aren't. And thank you for your support! It is greatly appreciated.

**Raychaell Dionzeros**: I know, I don't really like cliffies either but this one finished it! YAY!

And has anyone else read the latest chapter of Bleach? Am I seeing things or does that Hollow at the end of the chapter look like the creature Ichigo turned into when Ulquiorra punched a hole through his chest and Orihime decided to cry out for his help? And am I the only one who's mind got blown finding out Isshin is a Shiba and Misaki was a Quincy? Please tell me what you thought!

And also, a question for you guys. Whats your favorite video game and the system its on? I love hearing about games!

As always please review, fave, follow (add to alert list XD), e-mail, or PM me.

Thanks!

Edit: Oh my goddess, I am so sorry Raychaell! I was so scatter brained when I uploaded this I forgot to mention that the part with Connor on Megan and the guys coming in was suggested by you! I kinda tweaked it since you had asked for Ezio but the guys all kind of know one another and they don't know Connor. So yeah, thank you for suggesting that! I'm gunna have an outtake just special about it though with Ezio as the fall guy! Please forgive me!


	13. Valentine's Day

Somethings never seemed to change, like Ezio and Desmond pranking Altair. Then the two of them running for their lives as said older man went after them. Shaun and Malik would be conversing over things that she hadn't heard before or even discussing the weather. Leo would be cooking or reading or painting (she having bought him a set of paints and couldn't wait for him to make something, procrastination be damned). Alex would read or get on her laptop or sleep or be gone for most of the day.

Connor had effectively thrown _**everything**_ out of whack.

He was roughly the same age as Des and Ezzy and Alty but he was just so… naïve. That was the only word she could find in her extensive vocabulary that expressed her thoughts on the Native. He was naïve. The two dolts, A.K.A. Des and Ezzy, had found that he would do anything if told it was important or something along those lines. So now here she was, chasing after Desmond and Ezio after being told by Connor, who was hiding in his room after walking in on her changing clothes because he was told she had wanted to ask him something right away, that they were the ones who had told him that. She had a couple of guesses as to why the two of them were doing this, because this hadn't been the first time in two weeks since Connor began living with them, and she did appreciate the sentiment. She didn't appreciate the process.

"You two are dead!"

"Oh shit, Ezio move your fat ass! She's gotten faster!"

"Ti maledicono Altair! Perché si è di iniziare i corsi di formazione?*" Was Ezio's response. She knew the meaning of the words he said, all thanks to Leo. Or well, she knew the rough translation. And Altair had taken a keen interest in teaching her more than just throwing knives, he was teaching her how to do wall runs (many scraped knees and elbows thanks to that), fight hand-to-hand, use a sword (though they were using broom stick handles which still hurt), and even some techniques to incapacitate someone (mostly it was Alex would ended up being the guinea pig on that but it didn't stop her from practicing on Ezio and Desmond). She pours on the steam, taking a leap off of the porch as she follows them outside. Her breathing instantly becomes smoke and she notices the two were trying their best to get away from her, their own breathing becoming smoke too.

The chasing continued for several more minutes before she lost sight of them. She stops, panting from the exertion, and looks around. "Come on you two, I know y'all are out here. Its freezing and neither of you are dressed for the weather." The two of them appear from behind the trees to her left, shivering. They were wearing short sleeved shirts and shorts because someone had decided to turn the house into an oven. It was much appreciated.

"How are you not cold?" Ezzy questions, stuttering so hard she was surprised he hadn't bit his tongue off. Desmond was doing the same, nodding at her. She was barely shivering, having gotten used to the cold after so long. The only difference was that here shortly she would be shaking just as hard as they were.

"Used to it. But it won't matter; I'll be like you guys in not too long. I hate the cold." She responds, wrapping her arms around herself with a laugh. Desmond and Ezio grin and place her between them, using their body's temperature to keep her somewhat warm while they walk back to the house.

"I must admit, your skills are improving." Ezio compliments her once they re-enter the house. She filches the blanket off the back of the couch, earning a disapproving noise from Altair. He had been taking a nap, which was a feat considering the noise three had been making before tearing off out of the building. He just huffs, turns on his side, and closes his eyes to ignore everything. Malik chuckles, saying something that sounded a lot like 'Novice' under his breathe.

"Yay!" Megan cheers as she walks over to the kitchen, gets a cup down and fills it with water from the tap.

"You still have a lot to learn though." Desmond says making her choke on her drink. Her dirty look, whilst trying to get rid of the water in her lungs, only caused him to laugh as he walked over and patted her on the back. "You definitely get an A for effort." Once she gains her breathe back, she play punches him in the stomach which he returns and puts her in a headlock.

"Why do you allow him to treat her like that?" Connor says, surprising everyone. So he had finally come out of his room.

"Because she'll get him if he goes to far." Malik says and they hear Desmond groan in pain. Megan had elbowed him in the stomach when he started to give her a noogie and clutches at the counter top. She was grinning evilly at him. Malik gestures at the scene. "Like that. She isn't much of a weakling like she looks."

"I see…"

"Hi Connor." She says as she walks out of the kitchen and towards the people hanging out in the living room. Ezio walks over to the painter who was sketching out something. It looked like a bunch of half drawn circles and squares, nothing really to her. But it still made her excited, having the man paint or draw or really anything to do with pen and paper. Connor on the other hand flushes, his skin darkening just enough for them to see. He nods in response and walks away. She pouts.

"Give him time. All of us had to get used to this time period, it just may take him longer." Altair says, yawning widely afterwards. Megan nods in understanding.

"Can I ask something of you two?" At the nods she receives she continues her request. "Keep the two dolts from getting him into trouble? Hate for Alex to be around on something like that and him just be a smear on the wall." The older Assassins chuckle in agreement.

"For who to be a smear?" A deep rumble of a voice questions her, grabbing at her hips at the same time. She squeaks in surprise turning around quickly to find Alex behind her with a shit-eating grin on his face, hidden under his hood. She swats his arm and he atleast has the decency to look affronted, rubbing the offended appendage. She feels something snake around her waist and when she looks down to find a bio-mass tendril that lifts her overhead.

"Alex! Put me down!" She says laughing as she holds onto the mass of red and black around her mid-section.

"What will you give me?" Megan gives him a look while still laughing and he puts her down gently. He takes off his leather jacket and puts it on her, the warmth that was always with it comforting. It was something she loved about it.

"So guess what today is?" Shaun questions her as he comes inside. He had ran to town to get something, but what it was he wouldn't tell her.

"Uh… Groundhog day?" Megan answers with a shrug. Shaun rolls his eyes.

"No. Valentine's." There was a hint of something in his voice but she couldn't really figure it out. He hands Alex the keys and walks off to the kitchen.

"Get dressed." Alex says to her and goes to the stairs.

"Wait, why?" She says as she follows him to their room.

"Going out."

* * *

Alex waits downstairs for Megan. She was taking her time, which he should have expected. She was worth waiting on to him though. When she does finally come down the stairs she was wearing a long sleeved black dress with a high neck line and stopped halfway down her thighs. It was skin tight and her hair was straightened and hung down to her waist (she had gotten it cut about a week ago, citing it was too long now), it was swept to her left side leaving her right side bare. She had light eyeliner on, just enough to darken her eyelashes, with silvery shadow on her lids, pink lip gloss, and a pair of silver heals in her hand. She had silver stringy earrings on as well.

Her eyes lit up when she saw what Alex was wearing; A blue silky long sleeved button up, black slacks, and a black jacket over his arm. His ever present hood was gone along with the white button up and his boots. He looked really good.

His silvery-blue eyes roam her body, eyebrows raised. A whistle comes from the kitchen. When Megan looks over to see who it was; Des, Ezio, Leo, and Connor were leaned over it, mouths dropped open.

"Somehow, I think this outfit is better than the red one in Seattle." Desmond says, a chuckle escaping him. Altair smacks him upside the head.

"We will be gone for a few days." He says, nodding his head to the suitcases beside the bookcase.

"Where?" She asks in surprise.

"Seattle." Malik responds to her. He was sitting on the couch with a book in hand.

"So you guys... all knew about this?"

"After what you shared with us, we believed it to be the better option than all of us going. Besides, it'll be nice to get some fresh air and for the place to not be so crowded for the two of you." Shaun says with a smile.

"Let me guess, that was why you were gone earlier?"

Shaun nods. "Yes, Alex and I both." Her eyes cut to the dark haired male who shrugs good naturedly.

She eyes him a moment before a large smile breaks out over her face. She launches herself at him, giving him a tight hug which he returns.

"She looks much better like this, more appropriate for a woman." Connor whispers to Leo and Ezio who both roll their eyes at him.

"This is modern era clothing." Leo responds.

"You will see worse than this I am afraid. For them it is normal, but imagine how the old man felt when we were all going through this for the first time. It gets easier to understand." Ezio says to him with a good natured smile. Connor nods to him in understanding. They had said things would take time to become accustomed to. And this trip would help him in some way. It just made him worried, he had seen how they act when she was around and he could only imagine how they acted when she wasn't.

"So, me and Alex have the car and you guys have the truck right?" Altair nods yes.

"We'll be gone for several days." Megan raises her eyebrows at him.

"Ok... Don't get to drunk you guys, I know how y'all are. And no topless bars Desmond! They'll never be ready for them!" Megan calls out as Alex pulls her from the house, hopping to put on her shoes as she goes. He stops at the door long enough to put his leather jacket on her and then they were out the door.

"What is a… topless bar?" Connor questions the two more modern Assassins. Desmond laughs raucously and Shaun rolls his eyes and face palms.

* * *

"That was so much fun!" Megan says happily, several hours later as they re-enters the house. She wobbles from the heals, her feet tired. Alex shuts the door behind him, looking at the long column of her spine. He had found out the dress was low scoop in the back and the material gathered at the small of her back. They had eaten dinner and then went dancing afterwards at a local club. They didn't drink, not that the alcohol would really be able to sway him to well, but still they had fun. And she was really good at dancing, maybe not the dancing the older Assassins were used to but for this era she was.

He chuckles happily. "Yes. And it's late now." She rounds on him, taking him by surprise when she pushes him against the front door. She had that same look on her face that she did in Seattle, right before she had left for the club.

"And we're all alone now." She says, her lips a hairs breathe away from his. His lips twitch and he switches their positions, her pulled up to be even with him. He presses his against hers, a soft mewl escaping her at the contact. She wraps her arms around him neck, pulling him closer to her. More noises make it past her lips as they move around. He wraps one arm around her legs, keeping them to one side, and goes up the stairs not breaking contact with her. He tosses her on their bed, her bouncing a few times, and she leans against the headboard watching him stalk up to her.

Something inside quivers with anticipation and maybe a little apprehension. This was, after all, new territory.

* * *

"Desmond, focus." Shaun says, bopping the man on the head with a book. They were at a library in Seattle, researching. Desmond, Ezio, Altair, and even Connor wanted to pull their hair out. This wasn't really how they wanted to spend their 'vacation' time.

"How much longer are we gunna be here?" Desmond more or less whines, head dropping onto the book infront of him. It wasn't something he could understand so he didn't get why he was here.

"We need to see if there is anything even remotely interesting to get us home. To see if it would even be possible to do so." Malik answers, flipping a page to the book he was reading. Even he was starting to look bored and annoyed with it.

Not even twenty minutes later Shaun, Leo, and Malik call it quits and they all head to the bar, except Connor who refused. He wasn't much for drinking, especially after seeing how Redcoats acted. It wasn't something he wanted to join in on so he called it a night and went to the hotel they had booked, waiting for the rest to return.

"I wonder what Megan and Alex are doing right now?" Desmond questions hours and countless beers later. They were leaning on one another for support, unable to keep themselves upright. They were weaving all over the place, running into random people and into the walls and storefronts and poles. Ezio had even managed to get Altair, of all people, to do a strange but hilarious version of a pole dance. That was proof enough that they all had one to many and so they were heading back to the hotel. Maybe Connor would be able to take care of their drunk asses.

"Who –hic- knows." Leo answers with a laugh that was shared by Ezio. Des and Leo sway backwards, back peddling for balance. Altair and Ezio careen into a brick wall, laughing at the sight.

Shaun and Malik were several feet ahead, their movements unsteady. "Hopefully we aren't far from the hotel. Hate to wake up on a bench or something." Shaun says to Malik who nods slowly in agreement. They were definitely a sight to behold and one to make fun of when Connor woke up the next morning. Of course the barrage of pillows had him ducking for cover as they all complained about him needing to destroy the sun.

* * *

_The large group of men had left not long after Megan and that man had. She waited for their return, fully prepared to spend several hours doing such. This was something she couldn't let go of. She loved Megan, adored her. She would do anything for the writer even keep her safe from these _**men**_. Men were evil. They used you and hurt you, left you after they had gotten what they wanted. She didn't want Megan to go through that. They weren't her family. She had found out that Megan was an orphan. There would be no one to come looking for her after she had gotten rid of them. She twitches, a tic she always possessed; a jerking motion of her head to the right, violent and sudden. She had been used by men, abused and mistreated and hated and hurt. They had called her names, cruel words she had heard all her life. She would save Megan. Save her and have her write only for her. No one else was worthy, only she was. She smiles, jagged broken teeth showing past tobacco stained, dry, cracked, peeling lips. Yes, no one was worthy of the brilliance of Megan's writing only she was. Her words spoke to her, told her she wanted to be saved from this hell. She wanted _**her**_ to save Megan. She twitches again, grabbing the little baggy of white crystals. She pours some into a glass pipe, taking her lighter to heat it up and breathe it in; twisting the pipe around to heat the crystals evenly. She exhales a long plume of white, the smoke coiling around her greasy oily hair. Yes Megan wanted her to save her, her books said so. She needed to know how to destroy the interlopers. They were the ones holding the princess, the evil dragons keeping her in her keep. She relaxes, eyes focusing in and out on the door which shifts and changes. She needed… to protect… her brilliant princess… from the evil… dragons…_

* * *

"Hey Megan, where are you?" Desmond winces as Leo yells for the girl as soon as they enter the house. It was quiet. A little too quiet if they were truthful. Instantly they were all on edge, every sound heightened. A giggle escapes from upstairs, putting them at ease.

"Alex! Quit!" was heard followed by a thud. Connor takes off upstairs followed by the rest to stop him. He flings open the door and enters but stops short, the rest doing the same as they stared. Megan stares back at them, clutching the towel tighter to her body and her eyes wide. They see the hickeys on her neck, darken marks against her pale flesh. She had just come out of the bathroom, water was still running and the door open; and a hand snakes out, grabbing her wrist, and tugging her back inside. She went willingly and the door closes with force.

"Uh… can we… unsee that?" Altair says as they all look at one another then flee the room.

"They know." Megan says, stopping Alex assault on her neck. She had enough of his love bites that she was sure she wouldn't be going anywhere soon without being stopped and questioned. Not that she hadn't returned the favor on him but he didn't seem all to concerned with it. If she was being honest, he seemed happy about it.

"So?" He responds, his voice low and with a growl following afterwards that send shivers down her spine. His attention moves from her neck to her collar bones, soft nips and bites being given. She gasps, breathless at the sensation. His attentions draw her away from her concerns.

* * *

Desmond throws back the shot offered to him, coughing as the liquor burns. The rest of the men follow suit, Ezio refilling the shot glasses. They needed to forget and their oath of not getting as drunk as they had be damned. That was their sister and they had seen her…

"There has got to be something stronger here." Shaun says after doing the next shot as Ezio plays bartender. Altair and Malik shake their heads no.

"Nothing. Just keep drinking." Malik says, choking out the words after the shot.

"This is improper is it not?" Connor questions them, his lids already at half-mast. He hadn't had half as many shots as the rest of them but was drunker then they were. He was obviously not used to drinking.

"Well, no but that doesn't mean _**approve**_. She's like our sister." Desmond answers, a chill crawling down his spine. That was not the image he ever needed to see. He throws back the next shot, the burn not as prominent now. He could feel the alcohol taking effect, his equilibrium was already swaying like the ocean.

Megan slowly makes her way into the room, watching as they throw back several shots without much pause in between. This was not good for them, especially Connor who looked ready to fall on his ass if he wasn't already sitting in the chair. But that didn't mean that he wouldn't fall out of the chair anyways. "Um, guys?" They all jump, turning quickly to face her. They looked like they were trying to figure out who she was and when they do, they throw back the newest shot in their glasses.

"Never…" Ezio says, his own eyelids fighting to stay open. Megan knew what he was talking about and she nods, a red tint crawling up her face. She takes the empty bottle from Ezio who was trying to get out more of the liquid.

"I think you guys have had enough." She says gently, helping Connor stand up. Most of his weight lands on her and she grits her teeth, leading him slowly over to the stairs. "Come on, it's bed time now." She says just as gently, catching any of them who seemed unsteady. She follows after them up the stairs, waiting as they change so she could tuck them in. She closes the blinds as tightly as possible, making sure only the bare minimum of light was coming into the room when she exited. She received various forms of good night; in Arabic, Italian, Mohawk, and English. Sleepy smiles were given as well when she kissed their foreheads and wished them good dreams. She returns to her room to find Alex asleep on their bed, arm behind his head. Half of his body was covered by the blankets, and she had a guess that that was all that he was wearing. She crawls into bed with him, surprised he was atleast wearing boxers. She smiles sleepily, her body aching dully.

* * *

_They were back. Those evil men were back. The hydra needed to be destroyed. But which head was the one she needed to cut off? You cut the wrong one and two more grew in its place. Her princess needed her, needed her to save her. The evil dragons had merged into the hydra, becoming stronger. They knew she was there, knew what her mission was. She twitches as she lights up once more. They weren't going to be stronger than her for much longer. She just needed to find the weakness. It was the hard part, the weakness and finding it. But someone needed to save her, Megan was in trouble. They were using her, hurting her. Megan was pure. She needed to remain pure for the sacrifice. But now wasn't the time. The hydra needed to be killed first. They were confusing Megan, making her think they needed her. That they had no intention of releasing their claws. The princess was naïve. To trusting. To kind. No one but her deserved Megan's kindness. Her twitching increases as musings turn more violent, visions of blood and fear and glee and other emotions fly over her psyche, a turbulent mix of things revolving around and around her head. A cackle, dry and low and painful, escape her lips as her eyes rolls around to follow things only she could see. All these monsters needed to be destroyed. The maidens needed to be freed. They didn't know the evils of this world. That was why she was there to protect the maidens from the monsters. That was her mission until she died._

* * *

Okay, I wasn't sure if anyone would like the last chapter. I know it was dark but it was something that I felt needed for the story. There will be more darkness with the light parts. The italicized parts are new and there will be more of them. This story is my baby and I am going to see it through. This is really the first one I can say 100% that I want to see finished. It eats at me when I'm not typing and that's good. And your reviews help. I was nearly done with this chapter and there were no reviews for the last one. I need the reviews. They bring me joy but not only that, I want to hear about your favorite parts and I want to know if there are parts you didn't like and what I can do to make my story better. I don't know if anyone really reads these notes. But I do want to hear from you, my dear readers. Writers thrive by having feedback and having none, while not a deterrent, makes it hard on us. We get better by you guys telling us.

But, enough of that. I have a few people I want to thank. I want to thank QuietDragon13 for adding me to your favorites and for following this story.

Now, on to the reviews!

**QuietDragon13**: Thank you so much for the review on Ch. 5! I'm glad you think my story is addicting, I just hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**ellozorro**: I have to say, your review made me so happy**. **I try to make this story interesting and I'm glad you find it captivating. Character development, for me, is difficult. I find myself, normally when I write, making the characters develop to quickly or its just odd. I try to base them as best I can in reality. Megan and Alex's relationship is hard for me to write truthfully. With Alex being who he is, it's difficult. I have to give him some sort of vulnerability. The others relationships are extremely fun to write, I just think of what big brothers would do to protect their little sisters and how they would aggravate and pick on one another. I actually have to stop myself from getting carried away! And I'm afraid that your tumblr name didn't show up but I would really enjoy talking to you!

I haven't yet moved, so for now I still have internet. I am having to start anew though. I'm going to be going up to the University there in the town I'm moving to and going to be restarting classes for Archaeology. But I'm also going to be applying for Creative Writing. I want to get better.

So, here's the question of the chapter; If you could be _**any**_ superhero who would it be and why? Self made superheros are fair game! For me, I'd want to be Batgirl. All the tech and gadgets and Bruce Wayne. -drools- Lol


	14. New Divide

"My head…" Desmond groans out, softly lowering his head to the countertop. Megan bites back the giggle that wanted to escape her, looking over at Alex first then to the trickle of men coming down the stairs. Connor and Leo join Desmond at the bar; mimicking the position he was in as well. She sets down three cups of coffee, infront of each of them, trying to avoid making noise as the men continue groaning. She carries more out to the living room, two at a time, to the rest of them. Ezio and Altair were on the couch, hiding from the sunlight filtering through the wall of windows. Right at this moment, she kind of wished she had curtains to block out the light. Malik was about the only one who seemed to make an effort, he and Shaun in the recliners, when he took the coffee from her. She walks back into the kitchen, taking over from Alex on breakfast she had been cooking when they heard the first signs of life from the overindulged men. They needed to atleast set some grounds with the rest of them who were living there, a repeat of last night would be terrible not only for them but for the Assassins. Another night like that and they may drink themselves comatose.

Her phone's shrill ringing breaks the silence of the morning, causing the Assassins to jump and groan at the noise and for their reactions to it. Megan runs to the phone and picks it up. She answers with short statements, getting sharper and more cross as she talks. Nearly 5 minutes later she hangs up, runs her hands through her hair in frustration, and releases a heavy sigh.

"Dare I ask what that was about?" Alex ventures, having once more taken over breakfast and separated it evenly for the, and she looks over to him. She releases another heavy sigh.

"It was my publicist's office. Apparently, someone snuck in about a week ago and stole some of my manuscripts I just sent them a few weeks ago. And then torched all the hard copies while deleting the ones that were in their computers. They want me over there for the police reports and so that they can compensate me for the destroyed works." She answers as she takes the plate offered to her and she sits at the bar beside Leo. The rest of the men take their plate but hold off on eating for a little while, still nursing their hangovers. Alex leans against the counter by the sink, drinking from a cup of coffee.

"So we have to go to Seattle I take it?" Alex questions her.

"No. New York." Alex spits out his coffee, coughing and hacking as he tries to regain his breathe. Megan's eyes widen and she get off her chair and around the bar to pat him on the back, worried. The statement and noise causes the rest of the men to look at the two. Alex eventually waves off Megan's concerns, and she gets the washrag wet instead to clean up the mess he had made.

"New York?" Shaun croaks out, his voice sounding like he had swallowed a frog and his accent thick. She nods yes.

"Yeah, the main office is where I have to go. My agent is 'local' so he's from the branch office over in Seattle. When I send in my scripts, I have to send them to New York. They have a couple of flights they want me to take."

"They want you to go alone?" Ezio then says, as Megan rinses out the rag in the sink. She eyes Alex and his coffee wet shirt, debating on if she should go ahead and make him take it off or if it could wait till later. The look he gives her answers the question and she drops the rag in the sink. Instead she looks at each of the Assassins and their rather disheveled appearances. They were haggard, dark rings around their eyes which were bloodshot.

"They don't know I live with others. But I'm going to tell them, when I figure out which flight, to book enough seats for all of us. But first, all of you really look like shit." She laughs as they flip her off or grumble or other displeased noised escape them. Alex roll his eyes, fighting the smile that wanted to break out over his face.

* * *

_Movement. There was lots of movement. Her position had changed because the hydra knew where she had been. She needed to hide better. This monster was smart, smarter than the others she had destroyed. Men were monsters. Evil. Megan needed to be saved. So much pain she had gone through because of men. Beaten, pain, they even got her hooked. But it helped her, helped her find her place in this cruel and unforgiving world of men. Helped her find her strength to destroy the monsters that were hidden from the rest of the world. Few could see them and this had helped her break that veil they made, causing themselves to look harmless. She wasn't fooled anymore. She had destroyed them. Reveling in the freedom. She was told to free all maidens, those so pure they needed to be sacrificed to protect forever. That is her mission and Megan was her newest maiden to free. Her books told her she was. There were messages everywhere, in writings and newspapers and even just running into them on the street. Their souls told her they needed to be saved. They may not know it, the purest ones begged for their lives even. Didn't they understand, she was saving them. They were testing her, the angels said so. Once they become like the angels, they thanked her. She twitches and lights up. She needed to keep watching, find the weakness._

* * *

"Okay, I talked to the company. I fibbed and said you, you, you, and you are my cousins." She points to Ezio, Altair, Malik, and Desmond. She then points to Connor, Leo, and Shaun. "You three are friends of the family, like you're all a band of brothers or something. Alex is my boyfriend so that isn't a fib." Various forms of understanding and rejection are fed back to her.

"Why do _**we**_ have to be brothers?" Malik questions and she shakes her head in the negative.

"I said cousins. I didn't say that you were brothers, just related." She answers him.

"So, Altair and I could belong to different parents?" Ezio questions her skeptically, crossing his arms over his chest. They were feeling much better, still hung over but better. Connor looked like death rolled over compared to the rest of them even though they had cleaned up, showered, and ate.

"Of course." She answers and rolls her eyes. "And we keep it simple."

"It's a little easier to believe because there are some genetic similarities." Alex motions to Megan to come closer which she does. "For instance, the dark hair. Almost 40% of the people in the world have brown hair. All five of you have it. Brown eyes are just as common. Her's are more recessive."

"How did I turn into your model example?" She mumbles as she looks up at him, fiddling with the collar of her turtle neck. Alex had found it funny she didn't want to display the love marks he had given her. Unlike her, he was displaying the ones she had given him with pride. He gives her a look for her to remain quiet so he could continue.

"I think we get." Shaun interrupts as Alex opens his mouth to continue. He pushes his glasses further up his nose. "It does make sense for her to say that. And she is right, the dark hair and you all have _roughly_ the same type of nose." He nods to himself. "This will work."

"How will we get to New York? It is many miles away." Connor looks over all of them. Megan face palms.

"Somebody show him a video of a plane while I go pack."

"How do you expect us to get on the plane?" Desmond questions as he hangs over the passenger seat, heaving a heavy sigh. Megan turns around and looks as Shaun who holds up several drivers' licenses before passing them out.

"I don't want _**any**_ of you older era men driving. I don't need nightmares of vehicular manslaughter… or something." Megan grins at them.

"You're teaching her bad habits." Ezio says, giving Alex a glare. Alex looks at him in the rearview mirror for a second before returning his eyes to the road with a barely-there smile.

"He is not!" Megan says. Ezio, Altair, and Malik give her a flat look.

"Don't lie." Shaun gives a short laugh as she huffs, crosses her arms, and flops against the seat. Desmond laughs and sits back as they head to the airport. This made things a little easier since they (he, Shaun, and Alex) had been driving without licenses. Desmond turns to Shaun and pesters him about how easy it must have been to make them and what all else he did.

"I was told that there is a possibility for the plane to quit working." Connor says from the floor in between the middle seats with Malik sitting right behind him with his knees shoved into Connor's back. The one armed man was leaned against Altair's knees who was between Ezio and Leonardo.

"And why couldn't we take both vehicles?" Malik grouses out as he bounces. His tailbone was hurting dammit!

Megan sighs. "Yes Connor there is, but it's such a miniscule number that it really isn't worth having the ulcers for. My family's flight aside, crashes happen only every few years and the causes for it are normally found out about before the plane even takes off. You're more likely to get attacked by a shark than die via plane crash. And for the second one, as much fun as it would be to have the publishing company pay for everything including a second vehicle while I'm gone; they told me one vehicle."

"Still should have done it." Malik winces as Alex hits another bump. He could have sworn the man was hitting them on purpose now.

"Alex, quit being mean." And the ride turns smoother which mean he was doing it on purpose. Perhaps because of what happened last night? He puts the musings aside so he could go over them later.

When they finally make it to the airport Megan instructs the older Assassins on the procedures for getting on a flight. She puts her luggage on the scale and the men follow suit, the luggage disappearing on the conveyor. Next was the scanners, what fun. After having removed their shoes, all objects in their pockets, and whatever they were carrying on board; they step into the machine and does the exact same as the picture told them. Once through, hurray!, they sit at the terminal to wait for their flight. Megan was being to get antsy. No matter what she may say to them to relieve their fears, she still had her own about it. In fact she planned on having Alex help her ignore it. That thought brings a smile to her face because she had her publishing company get the two of them seats away from the rest of them (but close enough for them to keep an eye on the trouble makers, in first class may she add) so she was happy to say the least.

Finally their flight number is called and Shaun and Desmond lead the pack while Megan and Alex are at the end of it. The older era men follow the more modern era and take their seats in first class. When Alex and Megan go past them they give them a funny look Megan stops long enough to tell them that the other seats around them had been taken before continuing on with Alex whom was tugging her along. The people behind them were complaining about her having stopped and she decides that flipping the bird would be cathartic so guess what she does?

Yup, she did it and Alex pulled her a little faster, covering his laughter with his arm and coughing. The people behind them were complaining even more about how a rude child like her should learn not only her place but respect for elders. Alex sets her down beside the window (which was actually his seat but oh well) and takes the seat beside her. The rest of the people in line takes their seats. She could only guess what the guys were thinking about her little show.

She tugs at the collar of her turtleneck. God she hated these things but it was somewhat better than running around with her neck all bruised up. Or so she thought once the heaters started to kick on, then it was hell in the air. Speaking of when the plane was getting into the air her stomach was doing uncomfortable flips and she had clenched her hands into fists. Alex had noticed and took her hand in his, bringing her left hand further over so he could hold it in both of his hands. Warmed by the gesture she gives him a smile. But now, now she just wanted to take off this damn woolen thing.

"Itchy?" Ezio questions, suddenly appearing beside them and making Megan jump. She gives him a look before nodding in the positive.

"Worst idea ever to wear this thing." She answers with a smile. Ezio grins widely, setting her on edge. He didn't always grin this big and when he did, normally Alty was on the receiving end of some harebrained prank orchestrated by him and Desmond.

Only difference was, he was around Megan and Alex not Alty.

"Connor is in the lavatory trying to turn himself inside out."

"Oh no." Megan unbuckles and maneuvers around both Alex and Ezio and goes to the bathroom (all the while her equilibrium deciding that pretending it was on a ship on the ocean was a good idea and the other people complaining she needed to remain in her seat or that she still was being disrespectful) only to hear someone regurgitating what was in their stomach, or atleast trying to. It sounded mostly like dry heaving, painful dry heaving. She knocks on the door. "Connor?"

A garbled noise that sounded like 'yes' was her answer. Damn, had she of known he would be ill on the flight she would have given him some sort of sedative. Better he be tired than nauseous.

"Do you need anything?"

"Off?" Was the response followed by more painful noises. Spying a steward she get his attention by waving him over.

"Ma'am you need to be in your seat."

"Yeah, I know. But my friend is sick and I'm just trying to make sure he's ok. Was just wondering if you had anything like anti-nausea medicine or something?" The man looks thoughtful before nodding, especially after a rather loud and hard retch issues from the lavatory.

"Yes we do, let me go get some." The man gives one last look to the lavatory door and walks off. Megan knocks on the door once more to gain Connor's attention.

"I'm getting you some medicine so just hold on, okay?" She receives no noise, just more heaving. She winces. He really wasn't good with flights. Atleast they knew that now and could prepare for when they returned home and got home.

Finally, after 2 connecting flights, they finally land in New York City. Alex had his hood up, his posture rigid to the point that it reminded Megan of when they first showed up. They all talk it over and decide that Megan only needed one person to go with her to the office and Desmond was chosen to go with her. They get into a cab and, after being stuck in traffic for an hour and a half, make it to the hotel. She checks in to the four rooms the company had booked for her and gets several keys, handing them out to some of the men. She and Desmond hand over their things to the roommates and once more climb back into the cab to sit in traffic for another hour before making it to the office.

Megan then has to go through several different secretaries before she finally gets to the right place. By this time both of them were dead on their feet and highly annoyed. Megan argues and talks and negotiates for nearly another hour when the man gives in and they shake on whatever the deal was. They then jump back into a new cab and get to the hotel. Dragging their feet they get into the elevator and go up. They bid each other good night, even though it was in the afternoon, and enter their rooms. Megan immediately pulls off the sweater, tossing it off towards the bathroom. Alex was relaxed, and half naked, on the bed and raises a brow at her.

"How did it go?"

She sighs but smiles. "Good, still have to go in tomorrow to sign stuff for the police but with the company negotiations are done." She crawls into the bed with him, snuggling up to him. Even though he seemed relaxed, he was still wound up about something. "What's wrong?"

Alex shakes his head in the negative. "Nothing."

Megan sits up, sitting cheerleader style, and puts her hands on her hips. "Alex, something is wrong. Your acting like someone is going to jump out and kill us or something."

He denies it at first but eventually concedes, telling her about his experiences the last time he was in New York. She remains quiet during the telling.

"This isn't the New York you were in."

"I know. Can't help what my brain tells me." She smiles, crawling off of the bed and standing at the foot right infront of him. He fights the smile that comes to him. He had the feeling he was being hunted by the girl. He didn't really mind.

* * *

_Gone. The princess had left with the hydra. But there was a black knight now with her. He would be difficult to destroy. She would break into her princess' home; make sure she was safe wherever she was now. And she still needed to find the weakness._

_She pulls out the baggy only to find it empty. Her twitching increases, the jerking motion seizing her whole body causing her to drop the baggy and pipe which shatters on the ground. She needed more, more crystals to be able to see the truth of everyone. Their true selves._

* * *

"So, you guys were loud." Ezio comments the next morning as they all meet up in the hotel lobby. Megan turns bright red and punches him in the arm as hard as she could, but damn did that still hurt her hand. Desmond grins lewdly at her and she gives him the same treatment, Connor looked exhaustedly at her. When Desmond and Megan had left, rooms were figured out. Desmond, Ezio, and Connor were the short stick drawers and so they had to share. Altair had a room with Leonardo, Shaun shared with Malik. The two men rub their arms, pained expressions on their faces.

"Morons." Shaun says, rubbing his temples.

"So where are we going?" Altair questions after shooting the two idiots a glare. Megan shrugs.

"Dunno. Probably just roam close to here or something." She answers and her stomach growls loudly in protest. She wraps her hands over stomach to quiet the noise. All the other men's return the sentiment. Megan looks at Alex and laughs as he gives an exasperated look.

"There are a couple of places near here to eat." And he leads the pack of people. They finally settle on a pizza joint, much to the delight of Ezio and Leo. Altair and Malik stare at the enormous slices of pizza and when they finally decide to eat them, after being egged on by the rest of the group to eat, they finish quicker than the rest of the group. After that they walk around, being shoved and pushed and more or less tossed around in the sea of people, looking at the buildings and then go into the shops and windows. When they finally they make it back to the hotel, they were tired and weary and exhausted and didn't want to have to go looking for something to eat for dinner so they just order Chinese and wait for it to show up at Alex and Megan's room. So they were just sitting around and watching movies and shows and pretty much anything that would catch their attention.

Once the food shows up Desmond, Alex, Shaun, and Megan have to show them how to eat with chopsticks or atleast try to before they just throw forks at them while they continue to eat with chopsticks. They all share the food, trying everything to find what they did and didn't like. Once that was done and over and the trash was cleaned up, they all go to their respective rooms to fall into food comas.

Megan falls onto the bed on her back, arms spread wide and she sighs happily. Alex lays down with more grace than she did and pulls her to him, molding her body to the shape he was making. Megan giggles as his breath tickles her neck and ear, which he begins to nibble on. "Alex, quit. That's not fair." He does with a heavy sigh. Megan twists in his grip and plants soft kisses on his lips, which he returns. She feels him relax more; he had been tense as he walked around to show them places, his head down and his posture a little demure compared to normal. It was nice for him to return to who she knew.

"Megan should have a room for herself. She should not be sharing with him." Connor complains as he lies down on the cot that had been provided for him the day before. It had been made while they were out sightseeing as the girl had called it. No matter what he was told about the society of this time era, he still found things were hard to swallow. Differences in not only dress, atleast of what he had seen so far, but in how they talked and reacted; how they treated one another, like Megan's little display when they were in the lobby and she had punched both of the men who were sharing the room with him, and how they just didn't seem to care. It was very difficult to adjust to it.

Desmond heaves a sigh as he flops down face first on the bed. Ezio had done the same as soon as they had entered, not even bothering to change out of his clothes. Desmond and he had. "It's like this." Desmond says, garbled by the bedding. He sits up to face the Native. "Today's time just doesn't care. People become who they are on the inside and not who they are told they have to be by society. Granted society still tries to do just that, but the freedom that we have now allows us to either follow what society says or who we think we are. Some people become the in-betweens, the people who do what they want but still within societal rules. Megan is one of them but I think she is becoming more of who she wants to be now. Like she's coming out of some sort of shell." He gives a shrug and flops back onto the bed face first.

Ezio lurches up, grabs some clothes, and goes into the bathroom to change. Connor sighs and lays on his back, watching whatever it was they had turned on on the TV.

* * *

Yay, chapter 14 is checked off the list. I have to admit, this is the longest story I have written. Normally I get stuck with the story its self, don't know how to progress with it. But this is the one that I love working with it to get the story to work. I can say that I have the chapters already planned out and I'm really excited.

I want to thank Ellozorro for her wonderful review. It makes me feel that I am doing something right with this story. And Raychaell, I'm sorry that it wasn't Ezio but on the outtakes you'll find out why it was Conner. I didn't put the whole argument but he was really rather cross for a few days. And a sulky Ezio is no fun to poke fun at. But they've all been complacent since the introduction of our favorite Native Assassin so chapters are coming together quite nicely.

I'm going to be putting up links on my homepage for my twitter, skype, e-mail, devianart, and tumblr accounts. As always please review, e-mail, pm me, favorite, or follow. Any of these are appreciated.

Toodles till the next chapter!


	15. In Between

Alex watched the world outside, the bright lights that never seemed to turn off, the noises of car horns and people talking and car engines, of crime and of screams of the innocent. He shudders slightly and turns away from the window, to look at the girl sleeping peacefully in bed. Megan didn't belong here no matter what the Assassins said about her doing great in her training. She wasn't a killer. She would freeze up if she ever had someone confront her with a gun or knife, she couldn't hurt another soul. She already had enough scars on her soul that re-opened over and over again as it was; more to add on would destroy her. He didn't know if he was anything like he was before he woke up in the morgue, Dana had mentioned he wasn't though he could never be sure since they had been estranged for several years, but he liked to think that she was making him better than the Alex that came before him.

He takes a few quiet steps closer to the bed and sits in the chair closets to him. He releases a quiet but heavy sigh, worrying his temples between his fingers. He didn't know what a relationship was supposed to be but he was happy with the one he had with her. Everything seemed brighter and more vibrant, considerably more so if she was there in the immediate area around him. But he also worried. There was so many things that could happen as soon as she woke up that could take her away from him. For him, she was like a shield. Warm and caring and understanding, non-judging to anyone, accepting a person for who they were. He didn't think there were people like that out there, as if people like her were stuff of legend or myth. But here she was, laying on the bed infront of him asleep without a care in the world. With him around nothing could get to her.

He was both her sword and shield. The preverbal white knight, come to save the day. Perhaps he had saved her. She seemed like she was so drawn tight when they first showed up, stretch so thin like a wire that it wouldn't take much to cause her to snap. Perhaps all of them showing up had been a good thing for her. Gave her something to fret over and care for. She had seemed to wake up and open up truly then. And now with that blasted Native Assassin having joined them, she was able to fuss over someone new. To her, they were all like children who needed to be watched and coddled.

A soft smile comes to his face as she sighs in her sleep, pulling the pillow tighter to herself while curling up into a semi-ball. As much as Altair and Malik deny it, they loved the attention the girl had given them. Taking time to stop and explain something, no matter how many times the question would come up, being patient with them; they seemed to thrive a little more. They weren't so on edge with her as the days had gone by; even seeking her out without realizing it to find an answer they didn't know. Malik was at home with her library in their house, it wasn't just her home anymore for they all _**lived**_ in it, and when she had taken him to the library in town to get him new books had just about floored the man. The fact that someone would take the time to do something so trivial for another did not happen much in their time. And Altair enjoyed it when she would take him with her when she went to town, because she would allow him to go into every single store and browse and look and search no matter how much time it took.

Ezio and Leo were more comfortable with the attention they would receive from her. Leo, Malik, and Megan would have conversations for hours over what would be common knowledge for her but things neither of them could fathom; like the wars of Europe, the colonization of the Americas (she had whipped out a map to show them what the world looked like), about how the revolution would come around, slavery and the abolishment of it, the First World War and the resulting Depression, the Second World War, the Holocaust, the creation of the Atom bomb, the Cold War, and now the Afghanistan War happening right now. Of trends and music and of any little thing they could get out of her. She would watch Leo take apart things and answer any questions she could about the parts he would ask her about, even going so far as to look them up and allow him to see. Ezio would treat her like a younger sister and allow her to dote on him, but once the pranks would begin he could count on her to hold her own against him sometimes even out doing the Italian Assassin with her modern knowledge. But if Desmond started the prank war with her, you could bet that Ezio would be there to help her against the youngest Assassin. They could even come up with plots against the older Assassins that even they could appreciate and praise.

Desmond and Shaun. While they were from an era similar to the one they were currently in, there were differences that even they could spot. And the girl was game for Desmond antics, the inventive alphabetic name calling that they would come up with when one of them was cooking, the video game battles, but then the understanding that they both had of things they couldn't stop. Shaun enjoyed her verbal fighting that had them all scrambling for dictionaries and thesauruses, the way they discussed the things happening around them and even political views. He was happy to have someone around who could keep up with his intellect and that he didn't have to 'dumb down' what he said sometimes.

And him, he now had some humanity that he could use to sympathize and empathize. It allowed him to now understand others, atleast somewhat. The longer he remained here; he found that the only person he really wanted to understand was her. She made herself into something each of them needed to be without care of what happened to her. And when he realized what she had meant to him, what she really meant, he couldn't stop himself from wanting to do the same for her. And when they went to Seattle and saw her in that dress, he felt like he really _**saw**_ her for the first time. And when she had come back, drunk as could be but happy, and she had kissed him like she did he knew she felt something for him too. And then when Thanksgiving rolled around and he had initiated it but she reciprocated it, he knew for sure that she felt something for him that wasn't induced by alcohol. It was what solidified the decision he made on Christmas to start something with her. He just never planned on his feeling to grow as they have, to well up inside of him like they were going to burst out at any moment.

"Alex?" Comes the sleepy voice of the girl as she sits up in the bed, eyes at half-mast and searching for him. She skips over him twice before really seeing him sitting in the chair. She smile at him in that same sleepy way. "What are you doing up?"

He gives a soft chuckle to her, gets up and crawls into the bed with her. "Was just thinking."

She ditches the pillow and lays halfway on top of him, twining her legs with his into a tangled mess. "About?" She questions and yawns, eyes closing as she scoots as close as possible to him as if she wanted to wear the same skin as him.

"Nothing you have to worry about." He whispers to her and she makes an agreeing noise before relaxing as she falls back asleep. He finds that he follows soon after.

* * *

_The princess was gone for too long. A day, maybe two she could handle but this was now the fourth day. She needed to find her princess, needed to find the weakness. She couldn't study the hydra when it was gone. Couldn't study the black knight. She needed to know if the princess was still alive. Only she could set her free. If they killed her, her soul would be damned for all time. That is what the other princesses tell her as they float around her, telling her what she needed to know about how to save them. What happened to them when they were killed by her and how they realized that they needed to be saved by her. She was the Savior, and she had lost princesses before when she didn't know what all she was doing. It was hard to figure out the correct way because the ritual had to be different for each one. The princesses had to be treated differently because they were not the same._

_She twitches harshly, the jerking motion causing her body to seize up._

_She needed to get inside the house and find her princess. She needed to get any information she could to save her and protect her from them. _

_She looks into the clear baggy tucked into the front pocket of her dirty, torn, overly large jeans. She would need to get more crystals as well._

* * *

Altair sits in the bed, cleaning his hidden blade. It has been so long since he last used it, since it really needed cleaning that he couldn't remember when that had been. Malik sat in the bed opposite of him just watching.

"There really is no need for something like this anymore in this day and age. What had seemed so 'high-tech', as Megan likes to say, to us back then is no obsolete now. And to think that we no longer have to kill, that is something new. It's strange, don't you think?" Altair says pausing in his cleaning to look at his oldest friend. Malik gives a humorless chuckle and shrug of agreement.

"It is. For us to no longer need to do something we have always done, that was our livelihood, is an incomprehensible thought. Now we can do the things we never thought that we would be able to do, we can be truly free. It is somewhat daunting." Malik responds to him, turning look out the window and gaze at the city they were in. Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought of a place like this. So many people and so many cultures, co-existing so easily. The lights and the noises were another thing. Back in their time, it was near impossible to even get genders to co-habit without problems. Now, everyone was equal. All genders, races, religions, they could sit side-by-side. Even though he knew that there was still crime, there was little corruption to the police. It was handled without the need of someone like them, and for once Malik was glad. His only wish was that his brother could have joined him in this. He never would have to become cold and hardened like himself or Altair or Ezio.

"Yes, we can. And while that is true we have never been ones to turn down a challenge, have we Brother?" Malik turns back to Altair and gives him a dark look for a second before a small smile breaks out over his face.

* * *

"How do you think the rest of them are doing? New York is a lot to take on, Seattle was nothing compared to here." Desmond questions Shaun, who was sitting at the desk, when the younger man emerges from the bathroom. His hair hung limp with damp, dripping the water onto the towel around his bare shoulders. Shaun stops typing and turns around to face the man.

"Hard to tell really. Other than Leonardo, their all masters at hiding their emotions unlike us. Or rather, you." Was the snide remark and smirk directed at him. Desmond rolls his eyes and flops on to the bed designated as his tonight. Leonardo had wanted to switch rooms for the night and had pulled a rather unnerving move on the young Assassin that had him sputtering and unsure as he stood in the current room with the card key he was holding having been switched. Shaun had laughed until he nearly turned blue in the face.

"Still, kinda hard to believe we're not ever going back. I know they all thinks we are but I don't know. If we were, we should have left already thinking it was a bad dream caused by bad take-out." He folds his hands behind his head, looking at the ceiling with a hard stare. Shaun turns back to the laptop he had commandeered, returning to whatever he had been in the middle of.

"I haven't given up." Was the quiet response from the Brit.

* * *

"Leonardo, what will you do if we aren't able to return to Venice?" Ezio asks his blonde friend as they stand in the elevator, waiting for their floor to light up. Connor stood opposite of them, sullen and quiet. They had explained their findings to the Native and he hadn't spoken since then, which had both of the Italians worried. Granted having Altair or Malik or Alex remain quiet wouldn't have worried them any but the newest member to their rather impromptu family had spoken near as much as they did. And for him to now be quiet was rather vexing.

Leonardo shrugs. "Perhaps return to painting. Megan had told me about several things I could do instead if I so chose, such as working as a painting restorer or at a museum or some kind to name two." He smiles at him which Ezio returns somewhat. "What will you do?"

Ezio stops, his brain mulling over the question. He hadn't really thought about it. Could he return to banking like he had planned on doing when he was young? "I… do not know _mio amico_." He answers, eyes drifting to Connor. His own eyes were down casted and his brows furrowed heavily.

"How can you talk as if you will never return home?" The Native asks two floors below their floor, looking up and locking eyes with the elder men. Both look at one another then back to him.

"It's not that we don't want to return home Connor, it's that if there is the possibility of us not being able to what could we do with ourselves then. We can't sit around all day at Megan's home, wasting our lives. We cannot put such a burden on someone like her. She has already done so much that you cannot fathom. And for her to have gone through a terror as she did not two years ago when she was barely 21 and come out with an outlook so happily is astounding. She will always know the truth of us, even if others do not. And that luxury alone is more than any of us deserve with what we have done. She has not judged us for our past deeds." Ezio says to him in response which Connor just nods at and goes back to being quiet, thinking over this information. He did not know the woman as they did but from the small amount of time that he had spent with her, he could see why they held her in such a high regard.

While yes she was a woman, she was tough and could hold her own against them be it verbal or physical (though he knew the other men were going easy on her). But then there were times when he had seen her be gentle and caring to them, such as the time he had seen her sit there and allow Altair to lean against her without questioning why and listen to him tell her about something that was haunting him at the moment. The love he saw in her eyes when she and Alex would look at one another when they thought no one noticed. They were right in that she didn't judge past transgressions, just accepted them for who they were right then. He could only hope that maybe, someday, he would get to know her in the same way that they did. The thought alone gave him some hope for this new frame of time he had been thrust into.

He remembered when he first came here, unsure of what had happened. One moment he was out looking for animal meat for him and Achilles to eat since he had just returned to the homestead for a brief reprieve, the next he was lying flat on his back in some unknown forest full of unrecognized trees. He had tried to find the homestead but found her home instead. At first he had only gone in to attempt to find out where he was but then he had started to take things to eat and a blanket because it had started to get colder and he didn't want to risk being in enemy territory and giving them a beacon right to where he lay sleeping. He had avoided the house when he knew they were awake and only came to it when they were asleep or gone. Not often did he find the house empty during the day so he would be sneaking in at night most of the time. Had he of known they were like him, he would have come to them sooner than he did.

* * *

Megan exits the bathroom, giving a silent sigh of content. Her damn bladder had decided it wanted to wake her and have her scramble for the toilet. Megan looks the sleeping man, really looks at him. Past the good looks and who he really was.

She still thinks of him as human (damn those men who kept calling him an it and ZEUS) and that would be it on that. He was kind and thoughtful, quiet, strong. He saw the world as it was, accepted it as well, but didn't let it stop him from doing what he needed to. It had taken a little time but he had warmed up to the Assassin save Connor, their newest member to the group. He had fought tooth and nail for her when she had been kidnapped and when they had walked in on Connor sitting on top of her. She gives a soft smile at the thought.

He still didn't trust the man to some degree because of that. Eventually he would, once she was finally able to drill into his rather thick skull that Connor had only reacted to her pushing him away from her person. Sometimes she wondered if this was all a dream, an elaborate dream of some kind. She was afraid she would wake up and that none of the wonderful things that she had gone through with them. All of the memories they had made would be fake. She found that she prayed, to anyone who listened, that it wasn't so that all of this was real and not an extravagant dream concocted by an ill mind.

She wraps her arms around her stomach, a motion she hadn't found herself doing so often as a defense. She was really truly happy with all of them.

* * *

_Found her. Gone to the worst place imaginable, to the place where monsters thrived and feed upon the innocent. Killed all those princesses just because they could, fed upon their souls to corrupt them into creatures like her. She had escaped there after she had found her calling. She would have to be careful, watch what she did. Those foolish men would be looking for her because of the things she had done there before she left. All those princesses she had saved before they had decided she was doing something evil in their terms. She was doing the correct thing, saving them before they could be damaged or even killed._

_She twitches as she drives, having stolen money to get there. She needed to watch out for the princess, to keep her in sight was important._

* * *

Alex stands there confused. Megan stood with him. Both were loaded down with tickets the girl had won while playing skeet ball and several other games. It had happened just by chance that they would pass by an arcade while getting something to eat. After Leo, Des, and Megan begged (while they got their food) to play some games to pass time and to feel like kids again (Megan and Desmond used this one) Alex and the rest of them folded and agreed to go for an hour, two at most. Instead they had been there for nearly 5 hours when Megan had stopped and checked the time. She had planned on seeing how the others were doing, turning in her tickets for crappy prizes, and leaving for food again. Then it would be back to the hotel and relaxation while watching a little TV with the rest of them and then finally sleep. They had found the library and had spent most of the morning there and they had to pry Leonardo and Malik from there to get food.

But the reason they were staring was because Malik and Altair were tag-teaming on Whack-A-Mole, Shaun and Desmond had taken over a racing game, and Ezio and Connor were decimating on several different games. There were crowds gathered around them all, Leo cheering on his Italian friend, and the competitions had turned into something that she would call protecting their honor.

Megan wanted to find the nearest hard surface and beat her head against it.

"Do we even _want_ to know how this all came about when they finish?" Alex questions while turning to the smaller female. She looks up at him and, after a moment, shrugs.

"We could go turn these tickets in and just act like we don't know them. Let them find their own way back."

Alex smirks. "A quiet dinner for two then?"

Megan smiles and nods, turning to the prize counter with the large man in tow.

Not once did the Assassins realize they had been left until they ran out of quarters and ran out of money to make change. Once they had started to search for the girl and Alex did the realize they had been ditched. Frustrated they head back to the hotel to wait for them to return and hopefully with food for them since they had spent all of it on the games. Of course Ezio and Leo had taken all the tickets and gotten some rather humorous toys to entertain themselves with until such a time. Instead they ended up falling asleep waiting for the two.

Megan quietly closes the door to Ezio, Connor, and Desmond's room (the young Assassin having gotten his room back) and returns to her's and Alex's. The man was pulling off his shirt when she walked in and, giving in to the urge, she leaps onto his back knocking the both of them onto the bed. This then resulted in a gentle wrestling match which then turned into who could get who's clothes off quicker.

Alex cheated.

After a rather heated session, just before giving into her exhaustion, Megan sits up in the bed (using the sheet to cover her upper half) and looks down at him. He gives her a tired smile, breathing heavy, and his hand comes up to rest against her cheek. She returns the smile with her own. She had thought over what she wanted to say to him for a while and she couldn't hold it back anymore lest she burst.

"I love you."

* * *

Yay, I finally got a chapter out! I plan on doing a double update this week so expect another chapter later on this week. And I left it with a cliffy again! -gasps- Lol, wonder what Alex is going to do?

_**Zorro**_: Your reviews always bring a smile to my face. And your not the only person to have told me that I need to get something published, my family says the same. It's also the reason why I'm going to take a Creative Writing course. But thank you on thinking that this needs to be published! And don't worry, you can review at any time I don't mind.

_**Raychaell**_: I'm glad that you still love this story. And I hope you like this one too!

I'm sorry that this chapter is a week late. We just moved in and have been getting things out of storage and moving things around and all sorts of craziness has been abound. -shakes head- I have to start looking for a job. I need money for more games, specially AC 4. Hello Piracy! -dresses up like a pirate- What's your favorite pirate movie? Mine's Pirates of the Caribbean. Cap'ain Jack Sparrow, you can save me any time!


	16. She Couldn't

_Back, she was back in New York. The place that had created her, molded her into what she is now. The place of her first releases, the place she had started to protect the princesses. But she wasn't here to reminisce, no she was here for a purpose. She was here to learn about the Hydra and the Black Knight. They were dangerous, now even more so because another head had grown on the monster which was making it difficult to tell the difference of the real and the fakes._

_She twitches, the seizing of her muscles painful now as they lock up. It was beginning to hurt and the crystals weren't helping anymore. She would need to get something stronger to take with it. The thought slides to the back of her befuddled mind, mixing into the chaos that was her world as she saw it. This place was a form of evil that she had never encountered. It would single you out and eat you, changing you into something twisted and dark; change you into the shell of who you used to be._

_The princess was with the Hydra, the Black Knight nowhere to be found. Good, maybe he had left for good. Found her to be incorruptible. But then why leave the Hydra behind? No, the Knight was still around watching her. It just knew the Hydra would be enough to keep her at bay for the time being. She still didn't know its weakness. But her princess would be lured, lured oh so easily away from it. She just needed to time it right…._

* * *

"Megan what's wrong? Alex do something stupid again?" Desmond questions and elbows Ezio who was trying to steal a bite of his food. Arabic, why did they have to eat Arabic? Malik and Altair were happy, munching away on things the rest had no desire to try let alone figure out what it was. The chilled monkey brains on the menu alone had nearly gotten the rest of them to jump up and leave. But trust the two have gotten things that they would somewhat recognize, like rice or beef or chicken, for the rest of them. But they had noticed at breakfast that something had happened between Megan and Alex.

For one, the girl was alone getting food with a faraway look in her eyes and wasn't paying any attention to the food she had been getting. By the time they had gotten down there she had apparently burned three waffles and was well on her way to adding a forth to the trash bin. Desmond took the waffle instead while Shaun got her coffee and Leo got her cereal with milk. Malik and Ezio had directed her to a seat, with her acting as a marionette and they were the string masters. She ate robotically at first, not even paying attention to what it was she was eating until Altair had stopped her repetitive motion with a dark look on his face. She seemed to wake up and smile at them, a false one they could easily see through but they said nothing about it. They had all walked around, Desmond now acting as tour guide because of Alex having disappeared or refused to come out of the room. They didn't know which.

But she had once more returned to the blank look in her eyes. The way she looked was wrong, like she hadn't slept any that night. The dark rings under her eyes were back and with a vengeance. They would hear her sigh every so often, a soft exhale long and low, and her shoulders would drop just a little more. It was now at this point that they got worried and decided that emotional outbursts be damned, they needed to know if they were going to have to find a way of killing the man. Even Connor found himself interested and his own thoughts flowing with the groups, something that surprised him since he didn't know any of them very well. Hell, she normally dressed well when they knew they were going out and here she was in frumpy jeans, oversize shirt she must have taken from Alex, and a zip up gray hoodie that was lying beside her since the restaurant was insanely warm.

Megan jerks in surprise, eyes gaining back some of the light they had lost since the day before. Her brows furrow and the orbs fall back down to the food she had been about to eat. She drops it quickly, grabbing the napkin provided to wipe off her hands. "It's nothing." She mumbles back to him, tucking a strand of hair that had fallen out of the lazy bun she made earlier with a pen back behind her ear. The words were sharp and easily told them not to ask any more questions. They look at one another and the theoretical hand basket was secured so they might as well leap head first.

"Bullshit." Altair bites out, a snort following afterwards. Megan's eyes snap up and widen. Very few times had she heard the man curse and that was normally something that was brought on by Ezio and Des. This was the first time she had ever made him angry enough to cuss. She couldn't help the small flinch that followed afterwards, a jerk-knee reaction to something like that. Her father had been like Altair, quiet and ever present. A steady shadow of warmth and understanding, only thrice had she ever made the man curse. The first had been when she had signed on to be a writer without her parents knowing. The second time had been when she had told them she was moving up to Washington alone. The third had been when she had come down to see her niece just before they all died, she had gotten into an argument about how she wouldn't be able to make the trip down until after her manuscript had been sent in. So to hear someone she held in such a high regard cuss, it showed just how much her silence was affecting them.

She holds her head high for a few moments before dropping and she sighs. "I told Alex I love him last night. He didn't react well…"

Rage begins to build in each of them. When she doesn't elaborate on it Leo, being the calmest in the group surprisingly, decides to question her to get her to give a little more information. "What do you mean he didn't react well?"

She takes a deep breath, holds it in momentarily, and then exhales. "You guys really don't what to know." She waves her hands infront of her face, a forced smile on her face. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"We are asking because we do want to know. We do worry about you, so anything that is making you upset we want to help you with." Ezio remarks with a gentle look on his face and taking her hands in his, patting them gently. She blinks a few times, her face blank, before a true smile breaks out over her face. She nods once then sees a waiter bringing out monkey brains. When horror breaks out over her face the rest follow and see the same thing.

Desmond waves at a waiter like he had Tourette's. "Check please!"

* * *

"Oh my- that was so gross." Megan says, bouncing slightly while grimacing. Malik beside her scoffs.

"You have never tried it so how would you know." Megan turns to him her face showing her displeasure.

"And I am _**never**_ going to."

Altair rolls his eyes hunching his shoulders as a gust of wind hits their group that had everyone but Megan (who was sandwiched between Ezio and Malik) and Connor doing the same. Megan pulls Ezio closer, clutching onto his arm.

"About the Alex thing, what all happened?" Shaun questions as he quicken his pace to be even with the girl. She looks at him slightly confused before her good mood falls.

"Oh, yeah…" She remains quiet for a minute thinking over her words. "Well we were sitting there-"

"We don't need this image thank you." Desmond moans out behind her and she kicks him in the shin without messing up her steps. He gives a grunt of pain and thumps the back of her head in retaliation.

"We were sitting there and I just couldn't stop it from coming out. He looked surprised at first and then the wall, that emotional wall all of you had at first, came out. He stared for a minute or two and then turned over without saying anything to me. And then this morning when I woke up, he wasn't there. And I don't know how to get a hold of him. I don't know if I may have brought up something or if he doesn't understand or-or-"

"_Calmati, calmati_. You must remember, he has no memory of being a normal person." Ezio says, once more patting her but on her head this time. She gives him a look at first in response to the patting but takes a deep calming breathe anyways.

"Yeah, I guess I forget sometimes. It's just that he can just seem so normal." She says to them, her tone becoming frustrated at the end. "I don't know if I'll ever understand men."

"Hey, we're not that hard to take care of!" Desmond says. "All you have to do is give us food and sports and we're pretty much good to go."

Megan scoffs as they turn the corner. Somehow they were in Times Square but otherwise paid no mind as they were deep in conversation. "Yeah, pretty much like a pet; like a dog or something." Desmond thumps the back of her head once more, which she rubs. "Ok, that one hurt."

He shrugs and ruffles her hair affectionately. "So he wasn't there this morning when you woke up?"

"No, this isn't unusual mind you. But his side of the bed was cold so that meant he hadn't been there in a while. His body temperature is atleast twice what y'alls is so the residual heat tends to linger for some time." She answers.

"Front desk?" Leo questions her, looking in the windows they pass. She shakes her head no.

"Wonder where he could have gone." Altair mumbles to himself. Megan looks around at their group.

"Uh, where'd our Native go?"

* * *

Connor was surprised, which was hard to do. This strange woman he had notice earlier following them seemed to know where she was going. While this wasn't the first time he had been to New York, it was nothing like the New York he knew. She was weaving in and out of alleys, behind dumpsters, and anything she could to get away from him. He had caught a quick glimpse of her when he noticed; disgustingly dirty hair (even to him it was bad), ratty clothes, her face seemed gaunt and pale and she even seemed old though her movements belied a younger soul. Finally he gives up, stopping at a four way intersection of alleys. He heads down one that the noise seemed loudest. Once out and on the sidewalk, he found that he didn't know where he was.

He makes a displeased noise, picks a direction, and goes with the flow of people. And damn, could they move quickly.

* * *

_Close, that was close. The new head on the Hydra noticed her. She needed to hide better. But she learned something. The Black Knight and her princess were arguing. She didn't what about but they were. This was a good opening. But the Hydra, the damn Hydra was still there around her. It was getting harder to find openings, find out information. But she had when she got into the princesses home, had gone through everything and found out that she was making plans for something, pooling her money into a single account._

_She just didn't know why…_

* * *

Ok, now Megan was getting worried. At first they had just assumed the Native had gotten distracted and wondered into a store but after having waited for almost thirty minutes in one spot and no sign of the dark skinned man, they realized that something else must have happened. Megan, Shaun, Leo and Desmond (who only went along to lead them back to the hotel and left as soon as they saw it) calmly walked in and hopped into the elevator. Once the doors shut did Megan start fidgeting, shifting her weight from one foot to another as she watch the numbers climb slowly up to their floor.

"I can't believe we lost him."

"He's an Assassin. He'll be fine Megan." The woman shoots him a dirty look.

"He's from the Colonial times. He will not be 'fine'." Leo puts his hand on her shoulders.

"_Calmati_. He is an Assassin. They adapt, they survive. He did live out in the woods for several months before we even knew he was around remember?" She nods in agreement with a sigh.

"It's just that… times are different. He didn't have a good reaction when we took him to the store the first time and I can only think of that at about ten times worse." She furrows her brows. "Not to mention all the prostitutes, drug dealers, pimps, ya know. I don't want to see on the news that a Native American decided he wanted to liberate people and got killed for it. Guns then and guns now are two completely different things; bullets, styles, accuracy have all been improved. None of you could survive a bullet through the heart, him included."

Leonardo turns to Shaun as the bell dings to tell them they had arrived at their floor. "She has a valid point." He says to the Brit as they exit when the doors open.

"Des gave you the key to their room right?" She asks him and he scoffs while holding up the card key. She nods in the direction of the room. "You and Leo go and check and see if he's there. Imma see if Alex is in our room. He knows this city better than we do. That and he's like a blood hound."

Both men nod and go into the room. Megan stands outside of her room, takes a deep breath and unlocks the door and goes inside. Lying on the bed was Alex who sits up quickly once he sees the worried but slightly relieved expression on her face.

"What happened?"

"We, uh, kind of lost Connor." He raises an eyebrow.

"How? And when?"

"He must have wandered off and we don't know when exactly. Maybe an hour ago." She knew her awkwardness about the situation from last night was getting to her but she needed to get past it and find their errant Native. Once more she had to think that she had adopted overgrown children, especially now. Her heart was racing and she was getting a headache from her blood pressure's rising levels. She massages her temples for a reprieve of tension but it doesn't help. Alex gets off the bed, crosses the floor, and takes both her hands in his. She looks up at him.

"Don't worry, we'll find him." He gives a soft smile to her.

"I can't help but worry."

"They're Assassins not children."

"Yeah, Assassins from by-gone eras." Alex rolls his eyes, grabs his jacket and drapes it over her shoulders, then leads her out of the room.

* * *

Somehow he had made someone mad. They chased him for several blocks and then promptly gave up once they couldn't find him. Currently Connor was climbing the metal stairs on the side of a building so that he could get his bearings. But once he reached the roof he found that all he could see was more buildings, taller or shorter than the one he was on. He groans and begins to climb further up.

* * *

"Anything?" Megan asks when they meet up infront of the hotel nearly three hours later. All of the men looked grimy and dirty and tired but shake their heads in the negative. Megan begins to chew on her bottom lip, eyes going to the rooftops. She stops, freezing in place. "The roofs…" She mumbles, mind going over the things that Altair and Ezio had told her. She looks back at them. "The roofs! You two told me that you go to the rooftops to case out your targets. Do you also do it to get away or find out where you are?" Both assassins look at one another then back to her with a nod of agreement. "Maybe Connor does that too. Have you guys checked any of the rooftops?"

"That's actually a good idea…" Malik says in surprise. Why they hadn't thought of it he was sure. Alex taps Megan on the shoulder and they all disperse with a new mission at hand. Alex takes her into an alley.

She looks up at the fire escape. "I hate stairs…" Alex chuckles at her mumbled words and pulls her into his arms, holding her like a groom would a bride. She blinks several times. "Uh Ale- AHHH!" was all she managed to get out before he started to run _up the side of the building_. She could barely hear the crunch of the brick and mortar over the rush of wind in her ears. Her eyes stung and wept from the force of the air against the orbs and she quickly closed her eyes to stave off the effect it had on her. She felt the rumble of his laughter in his chest when her scream choked off. The pressure of changing altitudes so quickly left her somewhat deaf. And just as quickly as he took off he stopped, setting her feet down first but not letting go of her. She clutches at his hoodie with one hand while wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her own hoodie with the other. Once she was sure no more moisture would leak out, she cracks open an eye to give him her best glare. He says something to her but all she caught was a garbled mess.

She holds up her hand, pointer finger the only finger extended, and plugs her nose. She tries to exhale as hard as possible and feels her ears pop several times and then her world was filled once more with noise. "Much better. What were you saying?"

"Was saying that it was a good idea, the rooftops." He answers after a moment. She nods and walks to the edge of the roof to look over. They were many stories up and her stomach does a few unhappy flips at the height. "Uh, about last night…"

Megan turns back to him.

Alex runs his hand through his hair under his hood and makes a frustrated noise. Megan goes back over to him. "It's ok. You don't have to say anything." When he looks down at him she gives him a soft smile.

"You deserve a response." And then he pulls her flush against him and his lips crash down on hers, showing her what he was trying to say to her. When they finally break apart for breathe, Megan knew what he was trying to tell her: That he felt the same way she did. She gives him a breathless smile which he returns somewhat, eyes darting around. "Don't think he's been here." Megan laughs.

* * *

"Finally…" Mumbles Connor when he sees the hotel they were staying in after what felt like countless hours of looking for anything familiar. Standing infront of the building was the group of people he had come with. Megan looked frantic as they talked and looked around. Altair points in his direction and they all look over. Joy spreads over the girl's face as she sees him standing out in the sea of people. The group rushes over, each dirty with muck from where they had been looking, and stop right infront of him. Desmond looks him up and down and snorts.

"You don't look much better than the rest of us do."

"Yes, I would agree we all need a bath at the moment." Shaun says, pulling his glasses off to look at them. He sighs and puts them back on. Malik, Altair, Ezio, and Leonardo nod in agreement, the latter two looking down at their attire in disgust.

"Showers then call in for take-out?" Megan suggests, looking at each of them. She receives both nods and shrugs of agreement. She takes both Alex and Connor's hands in hers and leads the way back into the building. The staff gives them quite grossed out and disdained looks at the way they looked. Once they were packed back into the elevator and their floor number punched in, Megan turns to Connor with an unreadable expression on her face.

"What were you thinking, going off on your own?" She chides, her tone surprising him and also reminding him of a mother scolding a child. He puffs up, his mood turning sour.

"I am not a child. I will do as I please." This time it was the rest of them who were surprised. They had just spent several hours looking for him.

"I know you aren't a child. But you don't know the dangers of this time like we do." She motions to Desmond, Shaun, Alex, and herself. He crosses his arms over his chest.

"There is little that I cannot handle."

The elevator dings 4 floors below their floor and the door opens and three people go as if to join them. Upon seeing that the elevator was full they step back and as the doors close grumble about having to wait for the next one. "That may be true in your time but this is another all-together." Megan says putting her hands on her hips.

He scoffs. "I have been through much far more dangerous."

Megan's eyes narrow at being called girl. "You know what, we're gunna watch Law & Order: SVU and then you tell me if you could handle it." And the elevator dings again, this time on the correct floor. The men, except Connor, release a groan.

"If he gets hooked on that show, you're getting a noogie to end all noogies." Desmond points at her as they exit and return to their rooms. She rolls her eyes and waves his threat off, the door closing behind her.

"If he tries to noogie you, he's getting stuck on the top the Empire State Building upside down." Alex says pulling off his hoodie then shirt. He turns around when he hears a dull thump and finds she was leaning against the door, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Megan?"

Her eyes go to him, she blinks twice, and then smiles. "Sorry, was just thinking over what could have possessed him to just wander off." She shrugs and takes off his jacket and her own hoodie.

"Is that one of my shirts?"

She grins, pulling at the bottom of the shirt. "And if it is?" He gives her a feral smile, stalking closer to her and then chases her into the bathroom.

"Did you two have fun in your shower?" Desmond questions, a perverted grin on his face as Megan blushes. Alex, on the other hand, reaches over and cuffs him on the head. The rest, save Connor, burst out laughing as the youngest Assassin yelps and rubs his abused cranium.

"You know, I don't want scrambled eggs for a brain."

"Then learn to keep your mouth shut." Altair says, pointing his fork at him. Chinese was for dinner and the older Assassins were having to use regular utensils after they failed rather spectacularly with chopsticks. Megan chews on broccoli from her beef and broccoli, nodding in agreement. Her attention returns to the show they were watching, Benson and Stabler talking to the A.D.A. After finally getting Connor to tell them that he had been following some woman who had been spying on them for several minutes that he had noticed. Megan then had to explain that she may have been wanting to rob them but got scared off when he went after her. But now things were getting back to some sort of normal, if her life could be called that.

* * *

Alright another chapter out! I did have a rant at first at the beginning of this chapter because of reading the reviews on moirabbs story _Parting Ways_. There was one reviewer in particular that had riled me up. She kept going on about moirabbs story being Mary-Sue and just being mean. I then went onto her page and found myself getting more and more annoyed. Her mission is to clean up by using the report story button on every story she didn't like. Childish. -sigh-

But anyways, I wanna thank any one who reviews!

_**Raychaell**_: I am so happy you find this story beautiful and brilliant. Oh! And here. -hands over sunglasses- Just incase!

_**Zorro**_: Thank you for your wonderful reviews! Its always great to read them. And thank you for talking to me on skype!

I just want everyone to know that flamers will be ignored and the flames used for a bonfire for when I go hunting with my cousin. In other words, they will not faze me. Nor will any attempts to get me to remove my story. You have been warned.

I do like to talk to anyone so freely review, pm, e-mail, tweet, tumblr, or skype me. All information is on my homepage so just click my name at the top of this chapter!


	17. Part of Me

Megan could tell that Alex was stressed, his guard up. She could see it in the way he hunched his shoulders, how his silvery-blue eyes darted around, how any small noise that was unexpected caused him to tense and fractionally turn in the direction that it came from. He was a little more relaxed in their hotel room but it took him forever to go to sleep, if he got any. It had been two days since Connor's little disappearance and the two oldest Assassins were making a point to keep him in view at all times or else he was under the less watchful eyes of Ezio and Desmond. The two of them didn't think Connor running off on his own was such a bad idea as long as he did disappear as long as he came back in about an hour. But Connor had learned his lesson and would return well within the time limit set by the two.

But Alex was Megan's main concern because the more stressed he became, the more strung out she was. Currently he was hiding out in their hotel room while the rest of them were swimming in the heated indoor pool or lounging in the hot tub. Megan was just laying on her back floating on the water of the pool while Desmond, Ezzy, Shaun, and Malik were testing to see who could best who in the water. In reality they were just trying to throw one another around and prove who was stronger, Ezio was winning but Malik was a close second. If only he had both of his arms he would have been on top. But it was still humorous none-the-less for her, when she wasn't sucking in water through her nose from the waves.

She spies Altair sitting in a lounge chair; slightly off put look on his face has her stop floating and turning to face him, treading water. "Alty, come join us." She waves at him, droplets of the liquid flying off her hand and arm at the motion. He shakes his head in the negative at her with vigor. That's when she sees Ezzy sneaking behind the elder with Desmond and Shaun. How the hell the two managed to get Shaun in with them she didn't know, what she did know was that nothing good was going to happen with the grins all three had on their faces. Before she could even manage a warning to give him they picked up the lounge chair and had deposited the Arabian into the 12 foot deep end. Connor comes into view with the three stooges as everyone waits for the eldest Assassin to surface.

The bubbles stop coming up.

"Can he swim?" Megan asks before swimming over to the spot he went under at, her voice raising an octave.

"I thought he took those lessons!" Malik answers and Megan takes a deep breath before diving under. She finds him and he looks at her, panic in his eyes as he sits on the bottom of the pool. She grabs his face and breathes into his mouth before taking his hand. She points at the surface, her lungs burning and her own vision blurring from expending her oxygen like she did, and then shoves off from the bottom as hard as she could. Alty was dead weight in the water and made getting to the surface that much harder. Then all of a sudden it felt like he wasn't even there. She looks back and finds Connor holding onto the man under his arms, motioning for her to go on with his head. She lets go of Altair's hand and breaks the surface, coughing and gasping. Someone grabs her arms and hoists her onto the floor. A wet sounding flop alerts her to Altair meeting the floor too. Only thing was, she couldn't hear anything coming from him. She sits up and looks at him but his eyes were closed and his lips were turning a faint blue color. Ezio was shaking him, calling his name.

"Move!" She wheezes out, pushing Ezio away and then leaning Altair's head back slightly. She takes a deep breath and pinches his nose closed before breathing two short breathes into his mouth, watching his chest rise from them. She then lays a hand flat in the center of his chest with her palm down, her right hand grasping the left on top and then begins to do quick compression motions. She counts out to 30 and then gives him another two breathes. She repeats the motions thrice more before Altair coughs up water and tries to breathe. She puts him on his side, more water coming out as he coughs it up, and supports him with her legs as she lays down again her arms out to the sides of her body. She was breathing heavy.

"Are… you alright?" She hears Ezio question hesitantly. She lifts her head to look at the Italian. She gives him her meanest glare and he yelps, ducking behind Leonardo.

"That- was- the-STUPIDEST- thing- you've- done- Ezio." She says, taking a breath in between each word. Altair stops coughing and was just gasping but manages to flip the Italian the bird. Then the rest of the men grabbed Ezio and hoisted him up over their shoulders and tossed him into the pool. When he surfaces a second later he sighs.

"I deserved that."

"Damn- right- you- stupid- descendent."

* * *

Megan hurt.

As in, whole body hurt. There wasn't just one person playing with a jackhammer in her head, it felt like a fleet of them. And somehow they decided her head was full to bursting and moved on to other parts of her body. Her joints creaked and cracked when she moved them and she could feel not only her liver but her kidneys shriveling up and cramping. And last night, she had no memory of. The last thing she remembered was getting ready to go to a club because the guys had found her driver's license and learned that her birthday was yesterday. She remembered the extremely crammed van cab ride and the subsequent wait in line for the place. But after going in, nothing but noise and colors and oh mah gawd she was dying.

She curls up on her side into a fetal position, small sounds of discomfort escaping. Never. Never, never, never, never ever was she going to go drinking out like that again. She was 23 and that had been the first and last time she got black out drunk. She heard Alex make a noise behind her, the sound of the bed moving (though she never felt it), and then him walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. The light that sneaked out of the bottom was enough to send her reaching for the covers to throw over her head and hide. She hears the door open a moment later and then Alex sit on the bed.

"I told you not to drink so much." He says softly, the words muffled by the blankets. But to her, it felt like he was shouting.

"Not so loud." She bemoans, peaking over the blankets to look at him. The light was still on in the bathroom and her vision wanted to rebel and sent signals to her brain that light was making her sick. She gags, fights to get out of the tangled mess of sheets she was in, and into the bathroom to heave up whatever contents remained in her stomach. After what felt like an eternity of praying to the porcelain god does she slump against the tub and flush the toilet. Alex emerges from the room and stands at the doorway, shaking his head and shaking from withheld laughter. "I'm going to kill those idiots."

Said idiots were downstairs eating a late breakfast in the lobby and all feel a chill run up their spines.

* * *

_Was the princess ok? She didn't look well when she came in early this morning. Staggering and tripping and falling, to the point the Black Knight picked her up and carried her the rest of the way. She had been singing some song as they went, waving her arms and kicking her feet to some tune she was only able to hear. The Hydra was with them. But they left and came back not so long ago, this time with food._

_Her own stomach gives a rumble._

_She needed food and more crystals. She was almost out again._

* * *

Megan liked her quiet. It soothed her aching head and relaxed her body. What she didn't like was feeling like death warmed over and having a horde of men-childs running amok and being loud and turning the lights on when they came in. She hissed and spit like a pissed off alley cat and then covered her head with her blankets.

"What's wrong with her?" Altair asks, pointing at the lump under the covers.

Alex raises his eyebrows. "She's hungover."

"No I'm not, I'm dying and it's all the Assassins fault. They even have ass in the moniker twice!" Megan iterates from her refuge. The men all flinch and Leo reaches over Connor to flick the light off. A happy sigh is heard from under the blankets.

"You had fun last night though." Desmond says quietly as they all enter the room and find places to sit. Most sat on the bed around the edge.

"And I'm paying for it now." Was the response received. He rolls his eyes.

"Don't you remember throwing Connor to all those women fawning over him?" The Native shoots the man a dark look which he returns with a decidedly wicked grin.

Megan peeks out over the covers. "Do what?" Ezio, Leo, Altair, Malik, and Desmond begin laughing. Shaun sighs, pushes his glasses back up his nose and continues.

"There happened to be a group of women who, as soon as they saw our newest member, wanted him all to themselves. This went on for an hour. Each one would go up, try their best pick-up lines and were left disappointed because he is rather thick headed.

"You couldn't stop laughing. Finally you grabbed him by the arm and shoved him as hard as you could towards them and said 'Have fun'." Megan turns a mortified look in the direction of the Native.

"No."

"_Sí, sí._" Ezio says past his fingers which covered his mouth. "You should have seen the look on his face. They tried to get him to dance with them. It was priceless." Megan's eyes grow wider and her face redder.

"When he finally got away from them, he asked if they were possessed." Malik says, a short laugh coming out. "They certainly looked like they were."

Megan slowly pulls the cover back over her head. "Kill me now." Was mumbled out, barely hearable. The men roll their eyes and Connor huffs.

"The women had to be. Why else would they move in such a way?" He questions and the rest begin laughing quietly.

"Oh yes, Megan. We brought you food." Leo says, holding up a Krispy Kream bag. Megan removes the blanket, takes a whiff of double coated sugar glazed doughnuts and makes a break for the bathroom, the door slamming shut behind her. Alex heaves a sigh.

"This is the fourth time. How do you have anything left in your stomach?" The sound of hard retching was his only answer.

Once her stomach decided that it had tried hard enough to turn her inside out and hadn't, did she finally make her way slowly to the bed and the room full of people.

"When do we leave here?" Connor questions after some time. Megan got comfortable after the latest bid for freedom her stomach tried to make and reaches for her cell. Altair hands it to her and she turns it on and looks at the calendar.

"Today."

* * *

Once more were they on the plane. Only this time, Connor was drugged up to his eyeballs with motion sickness and anti-nausea meds. He looked like a limp rag doll. And every so often would give a smile, soft chuckle, and loll his head to one side or the other. But once Megan was seated beside him, he laid his head on her should and was out. Megan took this as a sign that maybe they had over done it. She on the other hand had taken some of the anti-nausea meds and was feeling a little out of it herself.

Yep, they overdid it.

She turns a happy, med induced grin on Alex. He raises an eyebrow and pats her head.

"Someone likes their medication, don't they?" Desmond questions, chin resting on the head of the seat. He was turned around and facing them. Megan turns her happy grin to him and shakes her head in the positive, hair bouncing with the motion.

"Very much so." She looks at Connor's happy smile in his sleep, drool just coming out of his mouth. "I think he is too." She says as she pokes his nose. Desmond laughs and turns back around in his seat to pester Shaun.

"HOME/BEDS/FOOD!" Was the chorus of voices that echoed throughout the house as soon as the door was open. There was a rush of people in several directions, some to the kitchen, others the living room, and Megan up the stairs. A pile of suitcases lay forgotten on the floor ten feet away from the entry where Alex stood with Connor, who was still so drugged up that he could barely walk. Alex quickly deposited the man on the couch, told the others to watch him, and followed his girlfriend up the stairs. The door to their room was shut but he could hear water running from the sink which he took to mean she was either brushing her teeth or just acting crazy. He was never going to let her take that medication again.

Of course the doodles that were still on the Native's face were hardly creative and excessively childish but none-the-less entertaining. Especially the 'flying penis' Altair had drawn around his temple. None of them could stop laughing and were worried they would wake him and their fun be caught and over. Instead he removed his cranium from Megan's shoulder and gave them the other side of his face when he leaned against the closed window.

He would not be happy when he comes out of his stupor.

Alex raps on the door three times before calling out the woman's name.

The response is a muffled 'Just a second' that sounded more like 'Us a theken'. Brushing her teeth. He goes over to the bed and lays down, removing his shoes, jackets, shirt, and pants. He was exhausted. Having not slept the night before because Megan apparently turns into Wiggle McMove-Around when drunk off her ass and none of the positions she tried were helping him any, just more frustrated. And when she finally had decided to stop and sleep, his own body said to go empty his bladder because it was being an ass. As soon as he moved to get off was when she woke up. Nothing was going to his liking.

Finally she emerges from the lavatory smelling of mint and toothpaste. "Sorry, could still taste whatever it was I drank last night."

He gives a deep chuckle. "That would have been everything under the sun." She rolls her eyes and joins him on the bed still clothed.

"You look tired." He rolls his eyes to her. "Well, ya do."

"That would be because you can't seem to get comfortable when you drink too much and try to go to sleep." Her mouth forms a little 'o' in understanding.

"Sorry." He kisses her forehead.

"Don't worry about it."

* * *

Vynx: -hits head repeatedly on desk- I am so sorry. This chapter is way over due. I have not given up on it, even though the plot bunnies decided that now would be a good time to take a trip to the moon and not tell me when they were coming back. Besides that, the space evacuated by them filled up with stress of not having found a job, my craptacular birthday last week, and having to help move my cousins out of their two bed apartment and into their three bed one. Happily they live in the same complex as me so it was that bad. We had to take a trip about two weeks ago back to Texas to visit and I got a nosebleed one night looking for my niece and nephew's clothes for when they got out of the bath.

My nephew thought I was turning into a vampire. -rolls eyes-

But enough of me wallowing. I wanna thank Prihnex, Raychaell, and Zorro for reviewing my last chapter. This one is shorter than my others but I hope you like it none the less. And thank you Zorro for the Happy Birthday on Skype, it made the day better.

As always, please pm me, e-mail, skype, tweet, or tumblr me. All info is on my homepage.


	18. The Requiem

Stealth.

Ok, she could do that. Be stealthy, quiet, unseen.

"Don't even think about it Megan." Her prey, Altair, says looking over in her general direction.

Err, maybe not…

She comes out of the ferns that help line the trees in the warmer weather. It was summer time once more. Time for short skirts, shorts, and tank tops. Connor nearly had a heart attack this morning when she came down the stairs wearing the outfit for the day, which consisted of a gray spaghetti strap tank, cargo shorts and some black socks with black athletic sketchers. Ezio was going to teach her about stealth today, hence why she was hunting Altair. The score so far was:

Altair: 17

Megan: 0

And it was only 3 in the afternoon. She plops down on the grass just shy of the Arabian man and pulls out a few blades which she makes scream, catching said man flinching at the sound. She raises an eyebrow and sets the foliage back down on the ground after soundly shredding it. He walks the short distance to her and crosses his arms over his chest, waiting on her to stand up. She sighs and clambers to her feet, dusting off her rear and legs.

"Watch, it takes time to learn how to be silent."

* * *

Megan was tired and sore and annoyed. She was going to pay back Ezio for making her use Altair as bait. The Master had rather enjoyed it, much to her irritation, and she didn't know if he was happy to have someone to teach or if he was enjoying it because of the fact it was irritating her. Ezio she knew was doing some of the things out of the need to make her miserable, if only a little. She had to admit that the three men, Ezio and Altair and Desmond, felt like brothers to her with how they treated her. Leo was like the loveable best friend, Malik was the wise uncle or father like figure, Shaun the smartass best friend. But Connor, where did Connor fit in with this brood of men-children she had acquired?

"Megan, Altair; how did it go?" Ezio questions, turning around on the two of them. Megan flops down into the plush chair and groans.

"I suck at this."

"It couldn't have been that bad." Desmond says as he takes a swig of beer from the bottle in his hands.

Megan sits up in the chair with a rather flat look on her face. "I couldn't get him once." She says, pointing at the oldest Assassin who chuckles while getting out a beer for himself and a glass of tea for the girl. He walks over to her and hands her the drink then sits down on the couch.

"You sound like the novice. When he first started he could not keep quiet ever." Altair gives the other Arab a dirty look while Malik smirks as he continues making scrambled eggs. She had been teaching them all to make different kinds of food so she wouldn't be the only one cooking around the house. Malik had found the breakfast foods the easiest to make and particularly found that he enjoyed making eggs. So tonight was going to be breakfast for dinner. He already had toast and biscuits sitting out and coffee was in the pot waiting. Leonardo stood off to the side of him; he was going to be the one who made bacon. Both of the older Assassins still refused to eat bacon and hot dogs. That little tidbit of info she didn't want them to find out was thanks to Desmond opening his big mouth one day when they were having a bbq and the man in question having had one to many beers.

Megan takes a swig of her drink, lumbers back to her feet and goes into her study. The boxes that held onto her axed manuscripts were lying on the floor of the room, the lids to the respective owning box lying beside or against it. She filters through a couple of them, an idea of what she wanted to give to her publisher rising up in her mind. Every so often she would stop and take another drink of her tea, finishing the glass before she realized it. She stares at it for a moment, shrugs, and continues on pulling boxes over to her and setting aside different stacks of paper beside her to send off to her publisher.

Connor watches the girl, small and quiet yet feisty and strong. He had a respect for her he hadn't had for any woman of any race since his mother.

Granted the girl would chide him as a mother does but only when she would get very worried. And he had a new found respect to the world around him after watching the moving paintings she called Law and Order; it was a dangerous world they were now in and he had to admit that even he would not survive if anything had happened to him on his little excursion in New York. He wished for simpler times like he had been in before coming to this time. But then again he couldn't say that he didn't enjoy being here, just didn't understand most of what happened.

He watches as she puts away the boxes and sets the papers out on her desk, putting on her glasses and delving into the make believe world she created with words. She easily got lost in it, he finds out when Alex sticks his head in the front door and calls her name a few times. Dinner was done and Malik had brought her a plate of food that she absently was eating, gnawing on a piece of bacon. Alex, rolling his eyes, comes inside looks around the corner of the hall to find her study door open and he walks into the doorway and stands there, waiting…

"Meg."

She squeaks, the plate clattering to the floor. Alex was shaking from holding in his laughter though the rest, excluding Connor, were howling with laughter. "I hate when you do that."

"Make it up to you later but I need you to come help with something though." He hears a sigh and the chair moving and the girl follows Alex out of the house. The rest of them relax after the meal, waiting for them to enter back into the house.

The two didn't.

Surprised, all the Assassins converge and go out the front door; instincts on high alert. They look around, finding the girl's vehicles are in their spots but neither person is anywhere near.

All of a sudden, water bombards the unsuspecting crowd. They scramble for safety, all diving in different directions. Megan's raucous laughter causes them to look to the roof and finds the two of them sitting there with a trash bag full of water balloons and other toys of doom. She continues to bombards them with the water filled plastic until there were no more. She pulls out a large water gun, pumping it up to shoot. "Alrighty boys. There are various super soakers hidden in the front lawn. You find it you can use it on anyone." And then she aims at Connor, who was frowning up at her from behind the lonely little tree in her front yard, and fires at him. Alex takes hold of her and jumps off the roof, landing gently on the ground, and setting her on his shoulders. The two of them were working together against the rest, and laughter, loud and exuberant and a whole heartedly enjoyed sound, rang in the man-made clearing.

When the water war was over with all parties involved were still trying to force water out of the empty toys but they were all happy. Megan climbs off Alex's shoulders and gives him a quick peck on the cheek. "That was so much fun."

Malik, Ezio, and Altair grin. "That is how you catch someone off guard." Connor says a small smile on his own face. The girl's lights up and she bounces around happily, giving each man a hug.

"Ya know if you taught stuff like this, it would be so much fun." She says to Ezio who in turn pretends to have a coronary. She rolls her eyes and ushers the men inside, all of them peeling off their wet clothes as they head upstairs. Megan stands and watches the procession, silently admiring the view. _'It's times like these that I am wonder how the hell I got so lucky to have some of the best male specimens live with me. And wonder where the fuck were the people who looked like them when I was in High School?'_

* * *

'_Ok, Alex is downstairs with the rest of the guys.'_ Megan thinks, locking the door to her bathroom and setting the little stick sitting in the sink after pouring out the liquid and throwing the paper cup in the trash. She waits anxiously for the results. She had been feeling off, if only slightly but didn't say anything about it. That is until she realized that she had missed her cycle since a month after they had returned home from New York. Now she was worried.

She sat on the toilet, worrying her bottom lip, waiting for two minutes to be over. Finally it was and she closes her eyes, takes a deep breathe, and looks at it.

Two pink lines.

Megan thought she was going to faint. It was the EPT brand and they were spot on from what she could tell. She looks up at herself in the mirror, reading the shock in her own eyes, before the orbs travel down to her belly. She stands straight and turns to her side, examining herself. She didn't look any different than normal; she was still skinny, still a stick. But then she thinks of Alex and the rest of the men in her home. She wishes they could tell her how far along she was.

Would _**they**_ be able to handle it? She knew she could, her track record with her nieces and nephews had spoken volumes about it. She could be a mother; she was with the men at times. But could they handle a small crying child? It wasn't like they could make it stay quiet and it was absolutely helpless. It would need to be taken care of and loved and coddled. Would Alex be able to do that? Could he? He was gentle with her, so much so now that the thought of him having broken her arm so long ago seemed foreign and strange to her.

Someone knocks on the bathroom door after jiggling the handle. "Megan, you ok in there?"

She wipes away a few escaped tears that were crawling slowly down her face. "Yeah, yeah I'm alright. Just give me a minute." She answers Shaun, picking up the dry end of the stick and throwing it in the trash face down. Maybe Alex wouldn't notice it. She takes a deep breath, puts on a smile, unlocks the door, and opens it. Shaun was sitting on the bed and raises a coppery-red eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" He questions, taking note of the way her entire posture had changed. Something was different or he wasn't British.

"Not a thing."

* * *

"Something is going on." Leo says watching as Megan was humming happily while surfing the net. This had been going on for nearly two months. It was August now and they were staying more indoors. The weather had changed suddenly and with brutality. It felt like late autumn instead of the beginning of it. Currently the Assassins were gathered in the kitchen after a more dangerous training day that the girl would normally have watched but didn't. In fact, they had noticed she had skipped out of several of her training sessions. It was worrying them.

"She's too… happy." Altair says after making motions with his hands before he found a word he could use. It didn't adequately cover what he was trying to say but it would do.

"Agree. Something has changed for her." Connor says and sits down his glass of tea. He really liked how tea was made nowadays compared to the 1700's. Now it was just a drink, like it should be, and not something that causes so much pain. And, he had to admit, so many much more enjoyable flavors making the stuff the British had sent seem like saw dust.

"Has anyone tried talking to her?" Malik questions, watching as she giggles and clicks a few buttons before mouthing the words 'so cute'.

"After the mystery doctor appointment, she hasn't said a thing." Desmond grumbles. After the water war they had, the very next day Megan had called in and got an appointment with some doctor that day. She had repeated the process every three weeks. She would come home happy and slightly tired. Even Alex didn't know what was going on.

"She obviously has a secret. But she's gotten good at hiding it." Shaun says and Ezio nods.

"This is one of the things I wish she hadn't picked up on so well." Was Ezio's retort.

Alex sets down his beer and goes around the bar, then up the stairs. Megan stops what she was doing to watch him, brows furrowed in confusion and looks over to the rest of them. "What's wrong with him?" She questions. Desmond lets his head drop to the counter with a 'thunk' and shakes with laughter.

"You." Was the response from the rest of the men which causes her eyebrows to shoot up to her hairline and her eyes to widen and to go to the stairs. She closes the lid on the laptop, puts it aside, and follows after the man. Desmond picks his head up off the counter.

"Maybe now we'll find out."

"Alex?" Megan questions as she comes into their room and finds the man in question sitting on his side of the bed. He was hunched up and she could tell he was on edge by the way his head snapped up to look at her.

"Did I do something wrong?" Megan blinks at him and then smiles.

"No, why would you think that?"

"You're being secretive. Something has changed." He answers and she comes into the room to sit beside him. She takes one of his hands in hers, looking at the palm and tracing the lines on it.

"Something has." She answers and releases the appendage to stand and grab something out of her purse before returning to her spot on the bed. It was a tri-folded, glossy piece of paper. She takes a breath before handing to him and he takes it, unfolding the paper to find three pictures. They were grainy and in black and white. At first he didn't understand what he was looking at until something jumps out at him on the first picture.

He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him when he realized what it was. "Is-" he swallows the lump that rises in his throat. "Is that a … head?"

Megan nods yes and scoots closer to him, looking over his shoulder at the pictures. "And that's a forming hand." She says, pointing it out to him. He could see it, just not believe it.

Megan thought the man was going to pass out.

"Uh, how… how far along?"

"Four months." 5 months, he had 5 months. Suddenly a huge smile breaks out over Alex's face and he turns to her, grabbing her so gently she barely felt it, and planting a hard kiss on her lips. When the kiss ends Megan was breathless. "Wow, ok. You're happy."

"You have no idea."

* * *

It had been a week since Megan had told Alex, and now the two of them were acting strange. Alex had become more protective, growling and bristling and shoving the men away from her when they began to roughhouse. And now the both of them could be found at the computer in the study, pointing and talking about something in hushed tones.

It was driving the Assassins crazy.

Ezio, Desmond, and Leo finally got to the end of their rope and literally crawled on the living room floor to the girl curled up, half asleep, against Alex on the couch with her favorite blanket.

"Please!" Ezio begs.

"Tell us what is going on!" Desmond had his chin resting on Megan's leg.

"We must know!" Leo says, hanging off the opposite side of the couch's arm with his hands clasped together.

Megan just blinks at them then looks at the rest of the men piled in the kitchen, waiting for the answer. She then looks at Alex who shrugs and gets more comfortable. She rolls her eyes at him. She waves all the men over to infront of the couch.

"Sit down please." She asks and, despite they all feeling like small children, do as told. Megan fishes something out of her pajama pants and hands it to Ezio since he was the nearest. It was a glossy, tri-folded paper and it was passed around. Desmond and Shaun realize near immediately once they look at it what it was. Megan puts her forefinger to her lips and both men bite their tongues and passes the paper to Altair and Malik. None of the older Assassins knew what it was.

"I do not understand." Connor says as he hands the paper back to Megan. She rolls her eyes again after taking the paper. She holds it out and points to the top most picture.

"What does this resemble?"

"A head…" Connor answers slowly, looking carefully at it before turning back to her the confused look still on his face. Suddenly the four other Assassins realize what she was getting at and Shaun and Desmond get them to remain quiet, each fighting the smile that wanted to break out over their faces.

"Uh huh, does it look like an animal's head?" Connor gives her a flat look.

"No, like that of a small child's..." His words slow down as he scrutinizes the picture once more, finding a body and hands and feet to go with the head. He suddenly jumps up, pointing at her. "Why would you allow someone to cut you open to film a growing child!?"

There was silence..

And then Megan began to howl with laughter, clutching at her ribs.

"Nobody cut her open. There's a technology that allows you to see a baby growing inside a person without causing harm." Shaun says, adjusting his glasses as he chuckles at the embarrassed look that comes over Connor's face. Megan gets up and gives him a hug, which he returns awkwardly.

"How about this, you can come with me and Alex to the OB/GYN next week so you can see what they do." She looks over at Alex who shrugs and nods in agreement. Connor gives her an unhappy look.

"I do not know.."

"To bad." She says and returns to the couch, getting comfortable once more.

* * *

"Why do I have to be here?" Connor questions, trying with all his might to sink into the hard plastic chair he was sitting in. Megan looks around and sees all the pregnant women around them talking to one another and pointing at not only Connor but Alex as well. Megan frowns, laces her arm with Alex's, and gives them a smug look which causes the divided attention to focus solely on Connor. He tries even harder to disappear.

"Ryan, Megan?" Calls a nurse who was holding open a door with her foot. Megan stands and motions for the two of them to follow. Once they get to the nurse, who give an appreciative cursory look at both males, and she takes the pen to beginning writing. "Hello Ms. Ryan, how are you today?"

"Fine." The nurse scribbles something down and motions for them to go into the hall then closes the door behind her.

"And who do we have with us today?"

"The father Alex and my cousin Connor. He's our ride today." Megan fibs to her easily, the nurse writing down something else.

"Excellent. You'll be in room 19. Just change and wait on the bed." She points to the door they were infront of and the nurse was gone down the hall.

"Alright Connor. Just stand out here for a minute and then we'll let you come in."

"I do not feel comfortable." Megan bites her tongue to keep from laughing at him.

"You'll be fine. Just stand by the door and keep your hands to yourself." Megan says after Alex goes into the room and she follows him, shutting the door quickly. She takes off her shirt and pants, slipping on the paper gown they give you to wear. Once settled, Alex opens the door and allows Connor inside the room. Connor takes the rolling chair to sit on while Alex sits on the only other chair in the room.

They wait.

Finally the door opens and in walks a short, round, balding man who freezes when he sees the two burly men in the room with the smaller woman.

"Hi Dr. Hewitt." Megan says as she gives him a short wave.

"Hello Ms. Ryan." He responds to her after looking at her chart. He looks at Alex. "Alex, I presume?" Alex nods yes. "Nice to meet you. Megan talks fondly of you." And somehow Alex was put at ease with the words. Dr. Hewitt nods over to Connor who returns the movement stiffly. "Ok, so we're going to listen to the baby's heart and get you some pictures. We also need to do some blood work and take weight."

"In that order?"

"In that order, yes."

* * *

"Look!" Megan holds up the sonogram to Connor who looks at it and then at her stomach.

"Extraordinary." He pokes a little at her stomach, which was starting to turn into a pudge. She slaps his hand away, rubbing her belly.

"The only thing I won't like is not being able to see my feet."

* * *

Alright everyone, I'm back! I have been really busy here lately, what with watching the runts and trying to find a job and my computer, phone, and nearly every other electronic I own deciding that now is the time to conspire against me, I've been having a wonderful time. -repeatedly bangs head on wall-

Anyways, I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I hope the next one wont take a month to write out. But on to the thankies!

I wanna thank Krenaya for adding me to her alert list!

And the reviews:

**_MoonlitMeeting_**: Thank you for your reviews from chapters 13, 14, 15, and 17! Unfortunately the only I ones I can answer is for 13 and 17. Yes, Alty is putting her through the ringer and is enjoying it way to much in her opinion. And Connor is just so adorkable and naive. And Megan says she is never drinking alcohol again. Connor said that he found several phone numbers stuffed into his pants from that night.

_**Raychaell Dionzeros**_: Always glad to see that you love my chapters!

_**Phoenix-164**_: Yosh, I did Alty not being able to swim! I have read others doing it and it being funny but I really didn't think it appropriate for my story. Though if you check out the outtakes I'll have some stuff in there in the next day or so.

Also, thank you for anyone who reads this and checks back on it to see if I've updated. I know that I should be updating more often but most of the plot bunnies have yet to return. But you can always reach me my pm, e-mail, twitter, tumblr, or skype. All my info is on my homepage.


	19. Blackout

She wasn't going to cry. No matter what, she was not going to cry.

… Even if her waist looked like a balloon was slowly expanding it.

The rush of emotions had hit suddenly just after Connor and Alex had gone with her to her OB/GYN resulting in a rash of crying, rage, laughter, and depression. Sometimes with all of the emotions playing follow the leader in the same day. All the men felt like they were walking on egg shells. Alex felt like he did know what. Everything was now so different with her pregnant and the hormones that she was suddenly part of, or well had taken over her. More than once they would just be sitting in Megan and Alex's room watching TV and a commercial would come on, a simple normal commercial, and the girl would just begin crying.

Good news was they were all getting in touch with their more sensitive sides.

Bad news was they still sucked at comforting the girl. They would make her cry more or get angry at them if they said the wrong thing.

But it was Halloween and she had managed to get the guys to agree to go to the bowling alley because they were having a free Halloween themed bowl-a-rama and they were all happy about it since the last time they had gotten to go Connor hadn't been with them. Megan planned on playing a game or two, if her feet didn't swell up to bad.

Speaking of, she looks down at her feet and frowns. They were already starting to rebel and puff up causing a rush of sadness to flood her brain. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, holds it and lets it out slowly. She repeats the process a few more times and the emotions die down. She knew she was being a terror, she just couldn't stop it. The men were being overly gentle with her and she could only pray that if this ever happened again, things would be different. Or she would be castrating Alex with a rusty spoon.

'_Damn anger… Boy will birth be a wakeup call for him.'_ She could fondly remember that her sister had broken her brother-in-law's wrist when her niece had been born. Everyone felt it had been justice because the two of them had been arguing when she had gone into labor. 4 hours later the little girl was welcomed into the world. _'Please let me have a smooth, easy time like my sister did.'_ She prayed to any deity listening. She got no inclination that any had heard and, with a sigh, put on her costume.

It was a nurse costume with red and white candy cane like stripes on the ends of the sleeves, a white little hat that had a red circle with a white plus in it. The dress was tight on her bosom and flowed out after, which was very comfy in her opinion but not so much on her bosom. The twins were sore and swollen and sensitive and they had grown! None of her bras fit anymore and that had caused a meltdown yesterday that put the a-bomb drops to shame. Alex had just stood there, taking all of her screaming and cursing and rage for ten minutes before she broke down in hysterics. He then comforted her until the tears had dried up and she was apologizing to him for taking it out on him. Though her fit had brought up a good question neither had thought of. Alex really wasn't human anymore but she was. What would the child be then?

She knew she would love him/her no matter what but she didn't want him/her to feel that he/she was different. Didn't want him/her to have to think that he/she would have to hide and be ashamed. But the child would also have to learn that he/she would have to be careful and that alone was making Megan get gray hairs before the child could even be born. She could worry over that later. The sonograms were showing that the child looked like any other developing one and she was glad about that, and so was Alex. While the man didn't say anything, after looking over the sonograms he had released a heavy sigh she pretended to not notice. It must be hard for him, he's still getting in touch with everything that used to be human to him and now he also will have to worry about having a child with her. Neither of them had any idea that this could have happened.

Ok, they were adults and they knew the risks but with Alex now being more than human they didn't know if it would have even been possible.

'_Well, now we do.'_ Megan thinks sighing and getting out makeup to put on. In her opinion there was too much damn white in her outfit; white shoes, hose, dress, and head wear. But when the black lights hit it, she would glow and that was the only reason she was wearing it. She hadn't really glowed much the last time and she really wanted to this time. She glances at the mirror and stops, her heart starting to hammer in her chest.

* * *

"YOU JERK!"

"Sounds like Connor showed Megan his costume." Ezio snickers to Shaun who rolls his eyes chuckling and continues to make a bruise on Ezio's face. There was a false gash in his head with fake blood running down and dripping off his chin. His skin was white and pasty looking, dark rings around his eyes that made them look sunken in, and there was blood splashed on his lapel. He was dressed like a man from the early 1800s in Paris, France. Finally Shaun was finished and he cracks his neck, which was tired and strained. He had painted on everyone but Connor, Megan, and himself.

A flurry of quick, heavy steps coming down the stairs alert them to Connor making a mad dash for safety. Calmer, slower, lighter steps also let them know the girl was behind him. Her foot falls had gotten heavier from her pregnancy but were still lighter than others. But it was the calm, slow steps that had them looking up and at the stairs. The girl was calm and dressed, her outfit, Shaun found himself thinking, was very fitting. She was caring and kind, she tended most of the small wounds the Assassins would get when practicing and assisted on the bigger ones she didn't know how to treat; in fact, had she not of made it as a writer she would have made an excellent nurse or doctor.

"Connor." The Native flinches slightly. He was dressed all in black with a white mask on his face. "If you give me Broxton Hicks from that scare, _**you**_ will be in the delivery room."

"He scared you?" Altair questions, cutting off the snort of laughter that tried to come out. As funny as he found it, he didn't want her to threaten him with the same thing. The midwives used to use the same threat on the younger Assassins on helping with birth. Twice had he almost had to do so if not for Al Mualim saying that he needed to focus on one thing or another. Megan puts her left hand on her expanded stomach and nods.

"Connor, don't you know you could make her pop doing that?" Connor rips his mask off quickly, horror on his face. Megan shoots Desmond a dirty look before making a soothing motion while making the menace get off the chair.

"Not literally Connor. It's just an expression." She looks around at all of the men in the house. Connor was death, Ezio was a dead French Noble who was carrying a hatchet (which she found fitting, he was a drama queen), Leo was a hippie with flowers and glitter on his skin (the rose colored sunglasses looked wonderful on him), Altair was himself but there were cuts and slashes and blood on his person, Desmond was a clean cut, football jock, Malik was a zombie (she had to admit that it was a little disturbing he would allow fleshy like material to hang off his stump and she called it that with love), and Alex was dressed in military fatigues with what looked like a giant piece of shrapnel lodged in his chest. She glances at Shaun who was still wearing his normal clothes. "I thought you were coming." Megan says perplexed. Shaun gives her a tired sigh.

"Getting changed. Just wait a few moments." He stands, stretches, and heads up the stairs. Megan turns back to the rest of the men and looks over them once more.

"Why so much death?" She questions with a giggle.

"Look who you're talking to." Desmond says and Megan nods.

"I was joking Dezzy."

"Don't call me Dezzy." Megan sticks her tongue out but gasps, hands flying to her stomach and eyes wide. All the men jump up and take a step or two closer to her but she waves them to come over with a small smile. She grabs the first hand closest to her, Alex's, and places it on her stomach. Alex's brows furrow before shooting up to his hair line.

"Strong little bugger ain't he?" She questions with a large smile.

"He kicked.." And then Desmond's hand was beside and just under Alex's hand, right in the line of fire from the growing child. Desmond gives a short laugh from the contact.

"Should have gotten the outfit with the baby coming out of your body." Megan gives a snort of laughter.

"How do you think I feel at night when I can't sleep." She shoots Alex a look and finds just utter wonder on his face. He kneels down and places both hands on her stomach forcing Desmond to remove his hand from her person. While the look on his face was one she adored, his body heat was only causing her discomfort. "I would have thought you could feel when he was kicking you in the side last night. You were twitching enough." He gives her a flat look and removes his hands from her belly. She rubs her stomach a few times, giving a giggle every so often, before waving over the others. She grabs Connor and Ezio's hands and put them on the places she felt the baby kicking the most. While it really didn't feel like much on the outside, inside it felt like her stomach was being used as a punching bag. Ezio's face lights up when his hand is kicked and then Connor gives her the most confused but excited look when his is. They remove their hands so the next two could put theirs on her belly which it was Alty and Mal. Altair almost yanks his hand back in surprise when the baby kicks especially hard on his hand which causes Megan to flinch slightly. Malik got a pretty good kick compared to Altair's and it brings a smile to the former Bureau Leaders face.

"He will be a strong one." Malik mumbles as the two of them take their hands off her stomach. At that time Shaun comes down the stairs wearing a Freddy Kruger outfit and she had to take a second look because it looked way to real for her liking. After Connor scaring her she didn't need the stress, not that the guys caused her much stress. In fact, her life was stress-free except when her emotions took over and she caused her own stress. She hadn't even tried to write any because sitting on her computer chair was uncomfortable after only a few minutes.

"What are you doing?" The Brit questions as he pulls the mask off his face and raises an eyebrow.

"Baby's kicking. I think because he doesn't like Desmond." She shoots a looks at the youngest and he rolls his eyes.

"Really?"

"Yup, come feel!" Alex grabs his wrist and pulls him over, placing the red head's hand on her stomach while Leo's hand joins his. He begins to protest when the baby presses against his hand, not a kick or anything just slight pressure, and he shuts up quickly. The child does the same to Leo's hand and then goes still. Megan breathes a sigh of relief. "Yay, he's going to sleep." Altair, Desmond, and Shaun snort.

"Can we leave now?" Ezio questions with a smile. Megan nods and gets up… or, well, attempts to atleast. She flops her head back onto the back of the chair and holds out her hands.

"Help please."

* * *

"Are you sure you want to bowl?" Alex questions while he ties her left shoe. Megan couldn't reach her feet anymore and had taken to wearing slippers or just walking around barefoot while at the house.

"For a bit I do. And I don't get a ball that's heavy so it's alright. I can still do the regular things that you guys don't think I can." His raised eyebrow tells her otherwise as he ties the right shoe next. The black lights come on a second later bathing the world in neons and brights. She gives him a short breathy chuckle before he helps her to stand. That was another thing he was beginning to notice, once she was sitting down she could no longer get herself standing. She was tired (something he felt was adding to the emotional outbursts) and sleep was starting to become hard to find, especially at night. She would get restless and resituate herself a dozen times over, groaning as she wiggled around. In fact she had started to steal the multitude of pillows and create a cocoon around herself just to get an hour or two's worth of sleep. During the day she could also be found napping against any of the men if they were willing to let her do so. "Ok yeah, I can't stand up but once I am I'm good."

"Just… don't strain yourself." She gives him a quick peck on the lips before waddling over to the lane. Alex had the urge to follow after her but refrains from doing so as she rolls the ball in an odd way. She gutter balls it and turns around laughing her head off as she faces them. Alex gives her a grin as she walks back over to him and sits in his lap. If she was going to be stuck, she was going to do so by sitting on the man she loved. And damn it she needed to pee already!

* * *

When the group arrives home at an ungodly hour of 4 in the morning; Altair, Ezio, and Desmond stumbling around drunk in the hall followed by the rest. The three of them had somehow gotten into a drinking contest with some locals dressed as Tooth Fairies and won. But the cost was them getting nearly black-out drunk on Bud. Connor had successfully scared the living daylights out of no less than 17 people and even won the best dressed contest. Megan had given up after only 4 turns on the first game and spent the rest of the time talking with Ezio, Leo, Malik, and Alex on baby names and where the child was going to be and many other different things. Megan didn't know what the gender of the child was just yet and couldn't wait to find out. The two of them had figured out what names they liked the best for either gender.

But currently Alex had her in his arms, asleep, and kicks the door shut behind him.

"Can you get her to the room alright?" Shaun questions as Alex starts up the steps sideways causing the man to pause momentarily.

"I'm fine. Just make sure those idiots go to bed and remain quiet." Shaun gives a smart salute to him with the knifed hand and Alex continues on upstairs. She had fallen asleep on him in the Expedition, they were now taking both vehicles because of the number of people living together. The two of them had taken over the backseat and he would let her just sleep against him now.

Gently he lays her down on the bed, pulling off her shoes and the pantyhose she was wearing which slid off easily, giving a short laugh at the things before tossing them over his shoulder somewhere. "Alright Megan, need to get up for just a moment so you can change." He says gently after taking off the head gear. She had cut her hair more, it reaching somewhere around the middle of her back and she had been straightening it more though now she threw it up in a ponytail or bun instead. She groans softly as he shakes her shoulder a little, blearily opening one eye to find him taking off his shirt. She raises an eyebrow and licks her lips, a wicked smile coming onto her face.

* * *

"Morning guys." Megan chirps at the collection of people in her living room and kitchen and receives some mumbled responses and more than a few raised eyebrows.

"I believe it's actually afternoon, but why are you so happy?" Shaun questions, setting aside some breakfast food for her. She blinks a few times.

"Err.. I don't know?"

"We could hear the two of you so don't play innocent. That whole thing is what resulted in your current state you know." Desmond snorts as he downs a cup of coffee and then puts his head on the counter. Megan rolls her eyes.

"Would you rather me be biting you heads off for some reason or another?" The unanimous negative she receives causes her to smile. "Then don't complain." She takes the meal handed to her by Shaun and a cup of apple juice. She missed coffee and cola but the caffeine wasn't good for the growing child within her. She was still able to drink tea though so she wasn't completely cut off.

"Alex still asleep?" Leo questions, turning to her by the stove and eating a bite of eggs. That had been something she worried she wouldn't be able to eat anymore but now had no concern.

"Yeah."

"I'm sure you wore him out this morning." Malik comments, unable to stop himself. Megan slowly turns to him in surprise with the look being mirrored on the other men's faces.

"That is easily something I never thought would come out of your mouth Mal."

* * *

Megan waddles back up the stairs after eating and talking a little more with the rest of the guys. Desmond, Altair, and Ezio were still a little drunk from the night before and weren't much for conversation. She crawls into the bed and tries to make herself comfortable, putting a thick pillow between her legs to ease the strain on her hips. That was something she didn't like either. She knew her body was getting ready to give birth in three short months but why did it have to hurt?

Alex wakes briefly, long enough to wrap his arm around her and pull her against him then falls asleep. She was still exhausted and while she didn't want to do anything more than sleep, the baby had other ideas. She gives a hiss of pain as her stomach hardens and clenches. Hopefully it was nothing more than Broxton Hicks but when it doesn't let up, she grabs hold of Alex's arm and squeezes. The man jumps up, blinking blearily at her, before realizing she was panting and hissing in pain.

"Meg?"

"I-I think we need to go to the emergency room." She winces when the clenching tightens just a little more. He nods, throwing on some clothes when she releases his arm. Megan gets up eventually, still wincing and rubbing her stomach. She whispers soothing words to her belly, hoping the child could hear her and be comforted. In the back of her mind she worried she was getting preeclampsia, which she knew could kill the child and herself.

Alex carefully helps her down the stairs which then has the rest of the guys hurrying over to them. They were firing questions at her which she waves off, telling them that she was having some discomfort and she just wanted to make sure she was alright and more than likely overreacting. While they agreed with her, the moment that Alex and Megan were gone they had all begun to speculate on why she was trying to placate them.

Once admitted to the hospital and finding that she had gone into preterm labor, so they hooked her up to medications to help ease the pain while stopping the process and told her she was going to be put on bed rest. Alex didn't leave her side the entire time this was happening and then once the doctors were out of the room did he carefully wrap his arms around her and join her in the tiny bed.

"Are you ok?"

"Tired and sore. But glad that it's something so simple. Good thing I only have a few months left or else I would be going crazy having to stay in bed." Alex gives her a chuckle, deep and low and rumbling. She loved the sound and the feel of it when she was held against him and he did that. She breathes out a sigh, the drugs making her sleepy, and scoots closer to him to share his warmth against the cold of the hospital room. Her eyes slide closed as she hums quietly and happily.

Finally Megan and Alex return several hours later, Megan sporting a band aid on her arm and immediately heading up the stairs still tired and drugged up. The doctors had assured her that the meds weren't going to harm the child and then told her that her doctor had decided to move up to every two weeks. The rest of the men wait a moment for the door to close and then they look to Alex for answers.

"Preterm labor. She's fine but she was told she had to stay in bed unless necessary." Alex says to the unspoken question being asked of him.

"Isn't that bad?" Desmond questions him when he collapses into the girl's favorite chair. He looked weary to say the least, and even though the problem was past it still weighed heavily on his mind.

"Can be. But she realized it wasn't normal and we got to the hospital in enough time." He scrubs his face with one hand before getting up and grabbing a quick bite to eat then walking up the stairs after the girl.

"How can that be bad?" Connor questions quietly and Shaun pushes his glasses up his nose.

"Preterm labor can become real labor. If she was to give birth now, chances would be slim the child would survive for long." Something in strikes a chord in Connor at that. She was excited to become a mother and, had that of happened, she would be devastated.

"Horrible, even with all the advances that has been made?" Malik questions the Brit who nods yes.

"There would be so many things that hadn't developed properly that anything could happen."

"Well then we make things much more easier for the girl." Ezio says with finesse that only an Italian noble could have. Altair snorts at him but has to agree that they would be doing so, even if it wasn't out loud.

Megan was dress in clean pajamas, with her mountain of pillows infront of her and Alex at her back with his arms wrapped around her waist. She felt safe and warm, if not a little sore still. She then stuffs two pillows between her legs which gives her relief. Alex's arms tighten slightly around her, just happy she was safe and healthy. That both her and the child were equally healthy.

* * *

Oh maw gawd the plot bunnies have returned! -squees- I'm not 100% sure I'll be able to put a chapter out every week, but I sure am going to try. So what do you guys think of this chapter? Or the twist I put in for the previous chapter? And I have no idea if all the information I put up her about pregnancy is true because I have never had a kid before. So if anyone finds something that doesn't make sense or something please tell me.

Ok, I wanna thank Raychaell for her review! And preggers Megan is hilarious.

So please review, e-mail, pm, skype, tweet, or tumblr me. I do answer!


	20. The Messenger

"I am not going to stuff the turkey again!" Megan pitifully whines as she stares at the large, lumpy, dead fowl that was placed before her as she sat at the bar. Altair rolls his eyes as he sits beside her, eating a chip while he shelled eggs for devilled eggs. On the stove was potatoes boiling, pasta, tea, and giblet gravy. Desmond grins at her and sets the stuffing beside the bird. Megan pouts. "If I throw up, it is going to be your fault." She mumbles under her breathe as she grabs a handful of stuffing and shivers before sticking it inside.

She turns green.

Altair almost doesn't make it out of the way of her as she covers her mouth with her clean hand and quickly walks over to the half-bath that was downstairs. She was starting to get sick with some of the easiest things. Just the smell of anything garlicky had her grabbing the nearest trash bin or fleeing to the nearest bathroom. While she was still on bed rest, she did get up a little which the doctors had assured was alright as long as she didn't do anything more than walking to the bathroom or getting a drink if she was downstairs already. Alex would try to carry her but most of the time she would walk herself down the stairs. Some days she would be tired and stay up in their room, waited on and made comfortable.

"Maybe she should go back to bed?" Ezio says as she retches, looking at Desmond. He sighs and turns the turkey around and finishes the job she had only started. He couldn't blame her for it, just something that seemed to go along with pregnancy. When she gets out of the bathroom, wiping off the water on her face, she turns to the bar and sees Desmond stuffing the bird for her. She gives him a sheepish smile to which he rolls his eyes at.

"Go sit on the couch, you've been on your feet to much already. Alex will kill us if he knew just how much walking around you've done since he left."

Megan groans. "He's being a fussy butt. It was nice at first but now it's annoying." She moans as she walks over to the couch and eases into the corner of it. She turns to face them and puts her feet up, grabbing a pillow that she had taken down with her under her knees. She rests her hands on her stomach that looked like she had swallowed a small beach ball. It was the oddest thing to see, her tiny frame coupled with her stuck out stomach. She had gained the normal amount of weight that one was supposed to but instead of it being dispersed evenly, it seemed to have just settled on her stomach.

"I wouldn't let him hear you saying that." Altair comments turning in his seat to look at her. She sticks her tongue out at him before scooting down and laying her head back on the arm.

"How can I be so tired?" She questions quietly, rubbing her stomach on the right side just under her ribs. It wasn't that it itched but that it seemed to be the favorite spot the unborn child liked to kick, especially at night. More than once she would be forced to stay awake from the child who didn't seem to understand that nighttime was for sleeping not trying to kick his/her way out. Alex on the other hand was able to sleep the night through, lucky bastard…

"Probably because you're creating life." Desmond responded and she snorts in agreement then eyes the bowl of chips.

"You don't need them." Altair says to her, one brow raised.

"Yeah, tell that to my body." Megan retorts as she continues to eye the chips. Last time she had even tried to each the sour cream and onion chips didn't turn out so well. She still liked the things though and would try and sneak them if she could get Leo to get them for her. Desmond chuckles and sews up the bird.

"Let's hope that you can eat any of the food tomorrow." Ezio jokes and Megan's eyes widen.

"Oh my god…"

As soon as Alex enters the house, he felt comfortable. Something was going on, he could feel it. Any time he left the hairs on the back of his neck would rise and stay that way. He didn't know if any of the other men could feel it but damn was it annoying. It had been that way ever since they had found out about the pregnancy. And Megan was getting annoyed with the by-weekly doctor's visits and the not being able to write because of not being comfortable was getting to her. Sometimes he would allow her to tell him what she wanted written but eventually her words would get strung together and he could no longer figure out where paragraphs were and when characters were talking. And the most worrisome to him was the insomnia. He knew it had something to do with the child but she wouldn't say anything, just smile and lay in bed and try to rest.

But he knew he could do nothing to help her other than try to keep her comfortable. He was finding that she was using the body pillow to be comfortable and relaxed than what she used to, and if he was true to himself knew that it annoyed him greatly. They were also converting the study into a room for Connor to take and the vacated room into a nursery. It was a slow process because Megan had so many different things that were in the study she needed and quickly their room was filling up with books and boxes. They were stacked against a wall, out of the way but were still there and noticeable.

As he comes into the living room he spots the woman in question sitting on the couch with a glass of sweet tea and a plate of baby carrots and ranch. She waves at him happily and the withheld breathe he wasn't thinking he was holding rushes out. She was safe and comfortable.

"I couldn't stuff the turkey so Desmond had to." She giggles shooting the man a look. The young Assassin rolls his eyes as he grabs the pot of boiled eggs to drain in the sink. "He also wouldn't give me chips."

Alex smiles and moves her feet so he could sit, replacing them in his lap. Behind him walks in the rest of the crew, loaded down with groceries to last them for some time if they were lucky. Even Megan had been eating more than her birds share of food, but he knew that it was because she had to.

"Well that isn't fair." He retorted with a smile and she sticks her tongue out at him playfully. He reaches over and ruffles her hair before stealing one of her carrots, popping it into his mouth. She fakes affronted and lightly socks his arm before returning to crunching on her carrots with vigor.

"How often was she on her feet?" Malik questions quietly as he sets down the few bags he carried and Altair snorts.

"Too often." Was the answer he received from the other Arabian and Malik hmm's. Connor puts down the bags he had and pulls out some toys that Megan instantly recognized.

"YOU GOT LIGHTSABERS!?" She sits up quickly, an excited look on her face. The men all give her a surprised look.

"You know what they are?" Shaun questions her, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Duh. And you need contacts." She comments with glee before adding the afterthought. She sets the empty plate down on the floor, motioning for the Native to give her the now opened toy. He does so with a sigh and roll of his eyes, smoothly walking around the side of the bar to do so. She eyes the purple at the top and, with a flick of her wrist, makes the plastic pop out while pressing the sound button at the same time. She gives a squeal of glee then taps Connor on the hip who jumps in surprise at the move. "Oh how I wish I could run around and have a lightsaber battle." She giggles swinging the toy around and making noises.

"You really know what they are." Desmond says as he pulls out a red one and rips the plastic off it. He walks over to the girl and initiates a play fight since she wasn't able to get up. She whaps him on his hand and he returns the favor by tapping her on the head.

"Course I do. I've seen all of the movies. Fave is R2D2, he's such a snarky little robot." She snorts as he 'pretends' to hit Alex's arm with force from her deflection.

"You're not to bad with one of those." Ezio comments and then he continues to look through the bags, pulling out a green one.

"Oh, you got a Yoda one?!" She stops the fight to stare happily at the toy.

"Ya know what; I think we found something that placates her." Leo comments with a small smile at the sheer joy that was on the girls face. He receives various forms of agreement and then laughter erupts when Desmond tries to sneak in another hit at Alex but the man takes the girls sword and forces it to collapse against Desmond's chest, knocking the wind out of him. He sits down on the floor hard as Megan begins to snort she was laughing so hard.

"Shut up Chewbacca." He winces as he rubs the spot, a glower directed at Alex who sat smugly with the toy resting on his shoulder.

"You're Chewey, I'm Leia." She snorts at him.

"Well who the hell is he?!" Desmond questions in a raised voice, pointing at Alex. Megan smirks.

"Han Solo." Desmond flops down on the ground with a groan.

"You just nerded all over him, you know that right?" Alex says with a short laugh and Megan rolls her eyes in his direction.

* * *

"Alex, what are you doing?" The question makes the man freeze, his hands stopping what they were doing. Megan turns to him with a sour and worn out look.

"Uh… Nothing." Megan raises an eyebrow at the answer before a grin spreads over her face slowly and she pulls the man down for a kiss.

"The gesture is sweet but not tonight. He's to active." She sighs out, playing with the hair at the base of his head. He nods and gives her a kiss on her forehead. "Two months is going to take forever." She quietly moans out as she turns and cuddles against the man.

Alex chuckles and pulls her closer, quietly feeling the same. He couldn't wait, the excitement was near suffocating. He takes a deep breathe, feeling the baby kicking against his ribs, and quietly thanks whatever deity that thought of bringing them all to this world and for Desmond having to stay up and deal with the damn turkey.

* * *

"She's not going to be able to handle much more of sitting around." Ezio comments as he swigs his beer.

"She was also eyeing the beers you got." Altair says with a chuckle taking a deep drink of his own beer. The group as a whole had sworn off hard liquors deciding that they were the root of all evil in the house, not to mention they often ended up with someone having their face drawn on.

"She misses drinking with us." Malik chuckles out as he finishes his beer, sets it to the side, and grabs his next one that was already opened for him.

"Yes, but for the growing child to be safe she cannot drink." Connor says taking a drink of water. He had sworn of all alcohol; mainly because he just wasn't a strong drinker. A few beers and he was gone, waking the next morning with a splitting headache and random women's numbers stuffed in different areas of his clothing. Shaun throws a wadded up dishrag at his head that hits with a wet 'plop'.

"We know that and she does as well. She knows that she doesn't have just herself to look after anymore." The Brit remarks, catching the rag when the Native throws it back at him.

"Can you imagine what that kid is going to think is right growing up with all of us loonies around." Desmond chuckles, bottle to his lips then takes a drink. The rest of the men give chuckled agreements.

"But the child will be able to defend itself very well atleast." Leo comments and the rest of the men spit out their drinks to the sides of themselves, coughing and hacking the remainder still caught in their lungs. They forgot about that.

"This is one screwed up family we have now." Desmond laughs out once he was able to breath.

"But it's a family." Altair comments quietly to Malik and they share a small, content smile. While the order was a brotherhood, this was a family. A crazy, completely insane one but a family none the less and it was more than the two of them could have ever imagined one to have been. The girl was the binding glue that seemed to have been missing. She was something to all of them and they were the same to her.

* * *

"Food…" Megan says practically drooling at the sight before her. The Assassins look dead on their feet but happy anyways, but she had a feeling that was more to do with the fact they had taken her large TV downstairs and were looking for Star Wars to watch. Desmond kept snorting as he read descriptions to movies he was looking at, waiting for them to sit back down. She turns to him and gives a slightly goofy grin. "You need to find Space Balls and History of the World, Part 1." Desmond gives her another surprised look as he pauses in his search.

"You are such a nerd."

"Yeah, and?"

"Come on, get your food and then you can have a nerd fight when you're sitting on the couch." Alex says with a roll of his eyes. Megan sighs and starts scooping small amounts of everything on her plate, steering clear of the things she knew would make her get sick (a longing look given to the deviled eggs). Once that was done she makes the short walk to the couch and takes her usual spot, tucking herself into the corner of the piece of furniture. Alex sits beside her, allowing her to stretch out and put her feet in his lap, and watches as she balances her plate on her stomach. She takes small bites of everything, waiting to see if her stomach would revolt or not, and Desmond begins Empire Strikes Back.

"Why are we starting with the fourth movie? Aren't we supposed to start with the first one?" Questions Leo.

"No, you start with the fourth one because it was the first one to come out." Desmond answers, stopping his shoveling of food to speak. Megan thumps the back of his head and he turns around to do "sea food".

Megan turns green and steps on the goofball on her way to the bathroom. Desmond, wincing from her stepping on his hand, is then pelted with pillows from the rest of them. Alex bonks him on the head with Megan's lightsaber and she exits the bathroom, once more wiping water off her face from cleaning it. She turns a glare on Desmond. "I hate you."

"Sorry, OW!" Desmond turns around and glowers at Alex. "Will you quit?"

Whap! "Nope."

Desmond rubs his head and moves away, trading spots with Malik who waits for the girl to return to her seat. Once everyone was settle Megan is handed the remote to press play and keep a hold of. They laughed and ogled and explained the movies, all the while enjoying themselves. Megan made so many trips to the bathroom to relieve herself that Malik just ended up moving away from the spot he was given so she would have an unobstructed route to the lavatory.

Once the Star Wars films were done they started up Space Balls. And then none of them could focus because of how much they were laughing, many drinks made their way out of noses to cursing and laughter. Even Alex shot beer out of his nose at the appearance of Yogurt and Megan saying the same lines. Once the movie was over Desmond grabs the remote from the girl, looking for a different movie altogether. What he settles on surprises Megan.

"Starship Troopers?"

"Yeah, it's awesome. It has giant bugs-"

"I know what it is just haven't seen it in forever. One of my favorites actually." Megan says with a thoughtful look before grinning at him. "Play it."

"Oh man I forgot how good this movie was." Megan grins at the television, wrapping the blanket around her tighter. It was already late and they had kept eating at various points during all of the movies causing the food that was laid out to whittle down to the bare minimum of anything or be empty. _'Wish we had some deserts or something. I'm craving chocolate like crazy right now.'_ Megan thinks, eyes darting to the spread and sighing. Alex groans as he gets up, picking her feet up off him and setting them down in his spot, and goes to the kitchen. She pouts momentarily before her attention is returned to the movie. The older Assassins mouths were dropped open in shock, surprise, interest? She didn't know other than it was comical.

And then suddenly there was a slice of chocolate pie in her face waiting for her to take it, causing her to go cross eyed before she does. She also takes the fork and Alex fixes their positions back to what they were. "Thank you!" She says then takes a bite, giving a happy whimper to which he grunts.

If there was one thing he knew, the girl liked chocolate: hot chocolate, chocolate candy, even chocolate coffee.

And now that he thinks about it, she hadn't had coffee since she found out she was pregnant. The lack of caffeine had to be getting to her seeing as she used to survive off of it. That may have been one of the factors of her sometimes grumpy mood. Alex made a mental note to get more candies for the girl as he focuses on the film.

* * *

Megan didn't remember going to sleep but somehow she was in bed, wrapped around her body pillow with Alex spooned behind her providing her with warmth. While this made her happy, something had awoken her. But what?

And then she feels it, the urge to have to pee. This really was the worst thing about being pregnant, the need to pee near every 5 minutes it felt. Megan disentangles herself form both Alex and the pillow and zombie walks to the bathroom.

Alex cracks open an eye when the light from the bathroom hits his face and turns over, closing his eyes. The door opens and the light infiltrates once more before turning off and she clambers back into bed. She splays over his back, giving happy noises as she nuzzles.

"Hey Alex."

He grunts and Megan rolls her eyes.

"Guess what."

"Too tired for guessing games." He mumbles and she gives an evil grin, making her move. His eyes snap open.

"How about now?" She questions as she lets him go and he turns over to her, the same grin mirrored on his face.

Yup, he was definitely getting her more chocolate.

* * *

Shaun, Connor, and Ezio give Megan and Alex withered looks as they sip coffee. Altair stumbles down the stairs before rounding the banister and stopping in his tracks, a decidedly exasperated look on his face.

"You're _pregnant_, how could you want to do that?" He questions and Megan just laughs.

"Increased sex drive can happen." She answers drinking her milk and causing the three in the kitchen to sputter on their drinks and Altair's look to turn into annoyance.

"God help us." Shaun mutters under his breathe as he cleans up his mess he made. Connor and Ezio make noises of agreement as they clean up their messes as well.

"You're all babies."

"No, the banging of a headboard against a wall for 3 hours is enough to drive anyone insane." Malik comments as he comes downstairs, yawning. "Not to mention it gives one nightmares." He adds with a shiver. Megan gives Alex a sheepish grin and Alex just takes a drink of his coffee, a smirk on his face.

Desmond comes down the steps next with Leo in tow, the blonde man yawning widely and scratching at his stubble. She had noticed he stopped shaving and could only imagine how itchy it was. Desmond gives her a flat, annoyed look. "How is 3 hours humanly possible?"

She just raises an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, yeah…"

Megan snorts happily. "Again, doctor told me that an increased sex drive is normal. So you all will just have to suffer." The Assassins groan as they get their various breakfast things and sit to eat or drink coffee/tea or just laze around until they were conscious enough for anything else.

"So what's the plan for the day?" Ezio questions her after his second cup of coffee.

"Well I have a doctor's appointment at 3 so I have free time before then. Might try to get _some_ writing done. Think my publisher is getting annoyed with the stuff I had tried to get written but they turned down."

"Sounds fun. What about after the doctor?" Desmond asks. Megan taps her chin thoughtfully before shrugging.

"Dunno. You guys will be here by yourselves so…"

Leo gives her a puppy eyed look. "Why will we be by ourselves?" He questions pitifully. Megan laughs and pats his arm.

"I need Alex to drive me cause the doctor doesn't want me to be driving anywhere unless I have to." She answers him. He sighs and pouts, turning back to his coffee. "Hey, I know you guys will be fine. You all survived before without me so this will be nothing new."

"Ah, the freedom of life before…" Connor remarks with a smirk at the girl.

* * *

Oh good grief, I nerded all over this chapter.. -facepalms- I apologize so much for that but it was just what ended up wanting to be written. Though I hope you enjoyed it none the less. I just might nerd on other chapters cause the interaction between the characters has now gotten interesting. And I also have to get up early tomorrow (Thursday the 20th of June, 2013) because I have an interview-ish kind of thing at a beer store. Yay!

Thank you to all who've read the story so far. I re-tweaked the chapters and have cut it down to 36 and the Epilogue, so not much more. and I'm going to put a vote up on my homepage that will last until chapter 23 on the gender of the baby. And if you want, you can tell me in the reviews with a baby name is you like.

Now for the reviews for the last chapter:

**Raychaell**: Glad you love this story so much!

**Prihnex**: Oh hoh! You shall have to wait my dear to find out. Our little crazy person shan't be heard for some chapters.

As always, please review, pm, e-mail, tweet, tumble, or skype me. All info is on my homepage along with a new poll. Just scroll up to the top of this chapter and clicky my name under the story title. Bye bye till the next chapter!

P.S.: I have gotten hooked on Gackt Camui. He's the Japanese version of Johnny Depp, just 10 years younger. Not that Johnny Depp being 50 has affected the hormones of women around the world, oh no. The man is hot!


	21. The Catalyst

"Why do all of you have to come with us?" Megan questions, pouting at the men sitting behind her. Amazingly they had managed to get everyone inside the SUV with much fussing and moaning about who sits where. Alex's grip on the steering wheel tightens when they all start talking at once. Megan's eyes widen fractionally before she tries to get them all to quiet down, and once she had succeeded turns to Malik for the answer.

"We have things we need to do." Was Malik's rather simple response to her as the rest nod in agreement. She could smell something fishy going on, she just didn't know what. A quick glance at Alex shed no light on what it was though and she gives a silent sigh.

"Ok. Don't suppose you'll tell me what it is if I ask?"

They all give her slight smiles of varying degrees and shakes of their heads in the negative. She lightly flops back into her seat, feeling somewhat like a scolded child. Fine, they could keep their secrets just like she could keep hers. She had turned down finding out the gender of the baby, a decision Alex and she had made, and they were heading to her doctor for her now weekly checkup. It was annoying that they did that but she could understand after the scare that happened when she was 6 months they wanted to keep her closely monitored. So they had to brave the piles of snow and the off chance that the snow plows hadn't gotten up to their house. But they did and the roads were cleared of snow though Alex was still careful of black ice, which she could tell they would hit every so often.

Once they finally made it to town and stopped to drop off the Assassins at the outlet mall, handing them money for whatever they would need or get since it was two weeks before Christmas, Alex and Megan head to the doctor. Mostly it was waiting in the lobby for what felt like hours and then a flurry of stuff being done; blood pressure, weight, standard things, and then they were led into a room to wait some more.

Bored, Megan just stares at Alex who had his head tipped back and his eyes closed. She tried to think of what features she would like the baby to have from both of them, only really able to decide that she wanted the baby to have his eyes the most. Everything else was not really all that important; she would love the child regardless. She just would be happy if it had his eyes, the beautiful blue that they were, and everything else would fall into place.

Finally after what felt like an eternity Dr. Hewitt came in and he did everything that he was supposed to including doing a sonogram as well. He didn't print it out just wanted to check on everything. After that they were free to go. So they left and got back into the truck, and decided on where to eat. Megan called and got a hold of Shaun, him and Desmond and Alex all having gotten one because of the irritation of them not having one for when they went into town and the rest having realized they needed something that wasn't on the list, and they all agreed on a place to eat which was just a good old burger joint.

After finishing the meal the Assassins left, once they put things into the trunk of the vehicle, they headed back out to the strip mall and Alex and Megan decided to go to the real mall. They walked around for a little while, mostly sitting when there were seats, and people watched or talked about baby names. Because they had decided they didn't want to know the gender of the baby, it gave them a little more time to think of names even though it was for either gender. The rest of the men had joined in to when they were at the house, pitching names they found funny or fitting. Finally they got a call for the rest of the men to be picked up and when Alex and Megan showed up, there was a trailer sitting out beside the six men.

"We rented it and don't worry about what's inside it." Desmond told her with a grin that she wasn't sure she liked. She just raises an eyebrow at them after they get it hooked up to the SUV and get into the vehicle. Her feet and ankles were swollen and she was just plain tired, and she knew Alex knew she was. She also had a feeling that he wasn't going to be letting her walk her rear upstairs to change instead he was going to carry her. Atleast she was happy that Alex and she had gotten Christmas shopping done a little earlier this year. She just wondered what it was that the Assassins had gotten that required the need of a trailer.

* * *

"Oh my feet…" Megan moans quietly as she lays on her and Alex's bed. Alex gives a quiet chuckle as he pulls off his jacket, hoodie, and shirt then begins a search for a pair of pajama pants. Megan looks at her feet pitifully, wishing she could reach them. She wouldn't ask Alex to do anything, after the one time she had a pedicure she realized she didn't like people touching her feet. _'Oh how I wish I had a bowl of warm water. Maybe I'll take a bath.'_

"What do you think they got in the trailer?" Alex questions her as he pulls off his pants, her spying him wearing ice blue boxers, and pulls on a pair of plaid pajama pants. She was already in her own pajamas, which were a pair of green flannel pants and a gray short sleeve shirt she took from Alex.

"I have no idea but they sure are serious about it. Didn't want us to see whatever was in it." She gives a little chuckle and reaches for the TV remote to turn on the television. She channel flips for a little while, Alex joining her in the bed and maneuvering her into his lap, before stopping on MTV which had teen moms on. She snorts derisively and changes it to MTV2 which had reruns of Nitro Circus on. "Such a better show."

After only 20 minutes of the show Megan managed to fall asleep. Alex takes the remote from her and changes it to some other channel, shifting slightly to get a little more comfortable. The woman was still having problems sleeping but wouldn't say anything to the doctor about it, which was nearly enough to cause Alex to get gray hair. He pauses at the thought. Could he get gray hair? He couldn't even remember the last time he had gotten a haircut, the Assassins did so regularly as he thought about it except Connor who was more than happy to let his hair grow out. They tended to keep the hair styles the same as when the showed up, even having let Megan cut their hair with a detachable clipper on Desmond and Shaun. She had done a fairly good job at it but Leo and Ezio's hairstyles required the need of going to a barber. Altair and Malik would do their own hair though after she had done Shaun and Desmond's (which was right before she couldn't stand around for long periods of time) they had asked her to cut their hair.

He pauses again. It was two weeks before Christmas. They hadn't gotten a tree yet, figuring that he or someone else would trek out into the woods and get one like last year and chop one down. She wouldn't be able to decorate it and he had a feeling that her most precious ornament would, again, be the last to go up. Someone would just have to go out and do it.

He puts his thoughts on hold when Megan makes a noise in discomfort and moves a little. She brings her hand up to her stomach and rubs the spot under her ribs that seemed to be the child's favorite spot to kick. He gives a soft smile and takes over the rubbing when her hand pauses for a second, the baby kicking against his fingers. It just amazed him that she was carrying another life inside her so willingly, one that he helped to create. He had to let go of his past transgressions for the innocence of the little one, it would be a hard thing to do since so many of the people he had consumed were still in his head. After a few minutes of this the baby stops and Megan's face becomes relaxed with a little smile playing on her lips.

He could do it for Megan and he could do it for their baby.

* * *

The rest of the week was a flurry of activity. The Assassins made a few more trips into town, always with the trailer and coming back with it and the truck loaded down with things. Some of it was brought inside and hidden away in their bedrooms and others it would go to the newly built storage shed they had made. She had thought that was handy since they were now beginning to acquire more things from all of the people living together. Even her boxes from her axed stories were going inside there.

Connor and Altair had gone out and gotten another huge blue spruce tree from the forest outside, letting it sit out for a few hours to makes sure there were no squirrels or other animals living inside of it, and they had begun to decorate it. Megan had gotten into decorating to standing for most of the day much to Alex's displeasure, even with her siting that standing for one or two days wasn't going to hurt her any.

The tree looked amazing and this year Alex put her special ornament and the star on. As soon as he had picked up the old piece of crystal he knew why she had it so carefully wrapped and packaged by itself. It would take nothing for it to shatter. She had watched him carefully as he put it up since she wouldn't be able to, but he had placed it in just about the same place as where she had put it the year before.

"So how does it feel to be so close to your due date?" Desmond questions her as they sit downstairs eating dinner. She was propped up against the arm of the couch and her feet were once more in Alex's lap. Desmond was turned towards her along with the rest of the men who were sitting or standing around the bar.

She gives a weary sigh. "Like it can't happen quick enough." Megan then smiles at them. "But it'll be worth it. Carrying around a baby for nine months is hard work." She gives a semi-sad look to her feet. "And I won't mind being able to tie my own shoes again. Walking around barefoot is great but slipper shoes hurt after a while." She wiggles her sock covered toes.

"What names have you decided on?" Connor then asks afterwards taking a bite of mashed potatoes.

"Not really any so far. Alex likes Reid if it's a boy but I'm not so sure." Megan answers him, sticking her tongue out at Alex afterwards when he gives her a somewhat smug smile.

"What names do you like most though?" Malik asks her after setting his plate in the sink.

"Well, I like Kenzie if it's a girl." Megan says, looking thoughtful.

"And if it's a boy?" Altair prompts.

"Hmm… Greer and," she giggles a little, "Ken."

Shaun, Desmond, and Alex all give her looks of horror. "After Barbie's male accessory?!" Shaun questions her loudly after nearly dropping his tea.

She bursts out in laughter. "No! I like the meaning of the name."

"Which is what?" Leo questions shaking his head at the three.

"It means handsome."

"Oh god it makes more sense now why they picked that name…" Desmond moans and lets his head fall to the bar beside his empty plate. Megan throws a pillow over to him and hits his back.

"You're horrible Desmond."

"Yeah that may be true but you know you love me."

* * *

"Stupid freaking boobs!"

All the men look at one another quietly then look at the ceiling. A collective mad dash was made for the doors to the backyard and, after much struggling and pushing and warring, they made a bee line for the trees.

Megan was upstairs looking at herself in a maternity outfit. It looked fine, except for her boobs which seemed to have doubled in size again. And, if it were even more possible, tender and painful. That was it, she was swearing off normal clothing and bras and only wearing pajamas for the rest of this pregnancy. Thankfully that was only a month more.

She pulls off her clothes and tosses them in the dirty clothes hamper and then begins to look for her favorite shirt she stole from Alex but couldn't find it. She opens the drawers on his side to see if he had taken it back but was unable to find it there. She puts on her second favorite shirt, one that was a silvery blue color, and puts on a pair of black flannel pants. Now that she thought about it, stuff had been missing that belonged to everyone. It was weird. She hadn't thought everyone in the house was so forgetful, especially the Assassins.

She waddles over to the bed and lays down in it, after making a large pile of pillows to lie against, and turns on the television. She didn't have the patience anymore for trying to write, mostly because just as soon as she would get into her groove the baby would start to move around and make it difficult to concentrate. She would give up quickly just to avoid the problem.

She turns on the TV and channel surfs for a few minutes before she stops on Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares. This show was really good too and it made her want to, once she could, make some of the things she saw him making. She looks around for a pen and paper, finding some in the table on her side of the bed, and opens it to a clean page but pauses. There had been more papers in the spiral if evidenced by the ripped pieces still in the metal like someone had ripped them out in a hurry and had just stuffed it in the drawer. Maybe one of the Assassins had done it. She shrugs and writes down some of the things he makes, also writing down to look them up on the computer. She didn't have to do it for a while atleast.

* * *

"SHAAUN!" The Brit flinches slightly, looking up at the ceiling. How the hell did she know they came back inside?

Desmond pats him on the back, fighting the conniving smile that wanted to break out on his face. A quick look around showed pretty much the same look on each man's face save Alex who was just flat out smiling. He releases a heavy sigh and trudges up the stairs, pins and needles shooting up his extremities from the feeling coming back to them.

He stops at the door, takes a deep breathe, and steels himself for the possible emotional tornado he could have to face. He opens the door and Megan's head turns to him with a smile. He releases some of the breathe he had taken, she seemed to be in a better mood.

"Can you make beef wellington?"

"…What?" That was nothing he had expected her to ask. She sighs and rolls her eyes at him, waving him inside the room and pats a spot on the bed beside her.

Once that was done and he had sit down she asks him again, "Can you make beef wellington?" She points to the television and the show that was on it. "Cause it looks really good and I wanna try some of it."

He watches for a few minutes before nodding. "I can try."

She gives a gleeful giggle. "Yay, cause there are a lot of things I wanna try that Gordon has made and they look delicious. Especially the deserts, like this Chocolate Marquise." She uses the pen in her hand to point it out on her list of things. He gives her a smile and gets up, heading to the door.

"Do you need anything?" He questions her before going out of the room.

"Oreos and milk."

He gives her a frown, fighting off the smile. "That's not good for you."

She scoffs, feigning hurt. "You would deny a pregnant, immobile woman something so simple yet so delicious? You wound me."

He gives a short laugh and rolls his eyes. "You'll get the cookies and milk."

"Yay!"

* * *

"So what did she want?" Desmond questions when Shaun descends down the stairs.

"To know if I can make beef wellington." Was Shaun simple response as he pulled down the open container of Oreo's and a large glass that he filled with milk. He could practically hear the cartoonish drop of them falling to the ground. He fights off the smile that wanted to break out over his face before he turns around and hold out the treat to Alex. "She's in a better mood. And she wants this."

Alex takes the treat with a little trepidation. The Assassins were just as good as he was on masking things, emotions and ideas that they had. Shaun shoos him off to the stairs, pulling the things out that they would need for dinner. He does as told and makes his way to the shared room. This wasn't something uncommon, her emotional outbursts that is and a resulting relapse to them, but he knew she wasn't doing that on purpose. He walks through the opened door to see the woman scribbling something on the pad of paper she had in her hands fervently, mumbling something along the lines of 'that sounds amazing/wonderful/delicious.' Only when he purposely steps on a creaky board does she look up and give him a beaming smile he felt was more for the cookies and milk he held in his hands.

He sits on the bed, using the few pillows he could to lean on against the headboard, and sets down the cookies and hands her the glass of milk which she puts down on her table. She gives him a quick peck on the lips in thanks before grabbing one of the cookies and feeding it to him. He gives a low chuckle before taking it from her and then she dunks another cookie in the milk for several seconds then eating it. They continue this, eating the cookies and her writing down more recipes that sounded good to her.

* * *

"Good, I don't think they know what's going on." Desmond says with no small amount of glee, rubbing his hands together in mock evil. Altair cuffs him upside the head with a roll of his eyes, heading to the woman's study with Malik and Connor. They had managed, with no small degree of difficulty, to clear out the room for the Native and had begun to take his things down to the room. The new problem was trying to get the vacated room ready now, since they wanted to give it to the woman for Christmas as their gift to her. Leo already had his own ideas for what he would paint on the walls of the nursery, something that would be neutral gender wise.

Ezio had chosen a bed for the baby that they hoped the woman liked and each of the rest of them had gotten other, smaller things as well. It had been almost two years since they had had to be so secretive on something but they had fallen back into the habit rather easily. It kind of gave them a thrill to be doing this since the soon-to-be parent's room was right across the hall from the half-finished nursery. Leo was doing his best to not get distracted on the paintings, which Ezio had praised him for since Leo was well known for being a procrastinator as Megan had called him, and was more or less half way finished. The rest of the Assassins, except Desmond and Shaun, could only stare at the works and understood almost immediately why Megan had gotten so happy when he had given her the painting last Christmas. He was extraordinarily gifted.

"We still have to wait till they go to sleep though. Which is the only part that isn't fair." Ezio faintly whines as he sits with Leo at the bar, waiting patiently for dinner to be finished. Ever since Megan had been put on bed rest, Alex had stopped going through things and that was when the Assassins had come to the conclusion of what they could do for the two of them. The Assassins still felt that Megan didn't have to let them live there at all, it was a privilege few would have given them and for so long would never have happened. So the girl was more or less a saint for putting up with them for so long. So anything they could do to make her life easier, even training her which turned out to be rather enjoyable for both Altair and Ezio, they were more than happy to oblige for.

* * *

Yosh, another chapter done! -does happy dance- Pretty much just day to day things right now. But I want to remind everyone that I want to hear what you think the baby should be, boy or girl, and either name for either gender. I even have a poll on my homepage for you guys to use. Now on to the thankies!

_**UndyingDaughter**_: I did update! Hope you liked this chapter!

And to my guest reviewer, **_Hack Generation_**: I like the name Reid even though it makes me want to go watch episodes of Criminal Minds. Spencer Reid is just to adorable for his own good. Will keep it in mind!

Now, don't forget that you can reach me via review, pm, e-mail, twitter, tumblr, or skype. I answer to all of them and the ways to get to them are on my homepage or at the top/bottom of this chapter. Toodles!


	22. Tinfoil

It was the day after Christmas and Megan stood in the doorway of the nursery; she was really surprised that the Assassins had been so kind that they would do something like that for her. Quietly she closes the door and takes the few steps to her and Alex's room. The man in question was lying out on the bed in a pair of sweats, a book held up to his face in one hand and the other resting behind his head. His steely eyes slide over to her as she stands in the doorway and remain there, curious about the smile that was on her face. She takes a deep breath and then crosses over to the bed, allowing herself to be pulled in gently by the larger man and held against him. He gives her a kiss on the top of her head and she snuggles a little closer to him, wrapping one hand around his waist and looking at the book he was reading but all she could see was equations.

"Uh, what is this?" She looks up at him when she feels the deep rumble of his laughter, his eyes not once leaving the page he was reading.

"It's on nuclear reactors and the pros and cons of what they give to society." Do what?

Megan grins at him, squeezing him slightly before she returns to her position in contempt. Her eyes felt heavy and she didn't fight the urge to allow them to fall closed, soothed by the steady heartbeat in her ear and the lulling rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

Alex realized fairly quickly when Megan had fallen asleep, seeing as her grip on him relaxed and her own breathing evened out. He gives her a gentle kiss on the top of her head and reaches up to turn the page, happy with life at the moment.

* * *

"_Bella. Bella,_ time to wake up." Megan groans unhappily, pulling a pillow over her head to quiet the Italian man's voice. She was having a wonderful dream, one where she wasn't pregnant and the baby was born and all in the world was right. "_Bella,_ you must eat. Alex would be most upset with me if you do not." She peeks out from under the pillow, fixing the dark haired man with a stare.

"How about you be pregnant with what feels like a watermelon attached to your body and I be an annoying Italian Assassin?" Her comment was rewarded with a blinding smile and the pillow being removed from her hands.

"_Impossibile_, I think you would have killed Alex if I was." She chuckles at his statement, allowing herself to be helped up into a sitting position and then into a standing position. She grunts a little as her joints begin to ache from the extra weight she had put on for the pregnancy. This wasn't going to happen again for a while, she was sure of it. Not that she didn't love the little accident that happened; she knew the child would want not for love growing up. These men would all be he/she's uncles and would not allow any harm to come to the child. Hell, if the child was a girl, she feared for any future boyfriends on meeting not only father (let's face it, any guy that met him would be crapping his pants out of fear) but uncles who knew how to kill without being caught. And girlfriends, if the child was a boy, would be forced to deal with her and all the baby pictures she would be pulling out. Mwhaha.

"Megan, are you alright? That smile is… a little disconcerting to tell you the truth."

Whoops.

"Sorry Ezio, just thinking." He gives her a slow nod, walking downstairs backwards infront of her to make sure nothing happened to her. "I do have to say, I cannot wait to be off bed rest soon. Just another month to go." Ezio gives her another one of his thousand watt smiles and continues to go down then waits for her to reach ground level. She puts a hand to her stomach as she follows him to the kitchen where Ezio had made some rather delicious smelling food. She sits down at the bar and waits as he fixes her a plate, feeling as she did when they first showed up and her arm was broken. "Ah, brings back memories." She says as he set the food and a fork down infront of her. He gives her a perplexed look at first then rolls his eyes at her.

"It will not happen for much longer I'm afraid." This time it was her turn to roll her eyes.

"So where did everyone disappear to?"

"Hospital." Her head snaps up quickly to him, eyes wide. He gives her a soothing motion with his hands. "_Calmati, calmati._ It was nothing; Altair, Malik, and Connor somehow got it into their heads that balancing a sharp knife would be wise."

"Escalation?" He nods in the affirmative. "From what?"

"Butter knives."

She stares at him for a few minutes, jaw hanging loose, before she shakes her head and continues to eat.

She knew they were back when three loud voices were yelling at one another; two in Arabic and the other in Mohawk, and that was before the door even opened to the house. When it did, the voices got louder and the emotion in them was near palpable. She was sitting in the living room, having ignored Ezio trying to get her to return upstairs to sleep, and sets down the book she had been reading in her lap to await their entrance into the living room. The three men stop dead in their tracks when they see her, her glasses perched on her nose and a thin eyebrow raised just above the frames, and her not-happy look on her face. She tilts her head down just a hair, enough that she would be able to see them over the black and green frames, and guilt washes over them.

Alex, Shaun, Leo, and Desmond push past the three to go sit down; exhausted from having to be around the insanely packed emergency room and also having to explain why someone would be idiotic enough to try balancing knives. Alex picks Megan up and sits her down in his lap when he sits; nuzzling her neck though her attention was still fixed upon the three who stood sheepishly infront of her.

"I have only one question;" she takes a deep breath, "why?" She removes her glasses off her face, folding them and keeping them in hand as she waited. Suddenly three voices were bombarding her as they all tried to speak at the same time, eventually they return to their native tongues at they continue to yell at one another. Megan hands over her glasses to Alex and claps her hands once loudly and they all turn back to her in surprise. "One at a time and in English. I can't understand you other than a few words that you've all taught me. So, Altair, you tell me first what happened, then Malik, and finally Connor." She motions for the elder to go first who gives a self-satisfied smirk to the others before looking back at the girl and clearing his throat to launch into his tale. The other two did much the same, but gave Altair a death glare before they told her what had happened.

Once they finished telling her what had happened she takes a deep calming breath, closing her eyes to soak in the information and to come to a conclusion. This happened to be…

"You three are idiots."

She opens her eyes to the hurt/guilty/confused looks they had and instead turns to Alex, her face showing how tired she was. He gives a soft grunt before putting one arm around her back and the other under her knees, and then stands up with her in his arms. She turns back to the others and gives an exhausted smile and short wave while bidding them all good night. Not long after the others follow the two up; with Altair limping, Malik rubbing his arm, and Connor holding onto his abdomen, and all go to sleep in various states of comfort.

* * *

Megan unhappily awoke from her slumber to a full bladder being used as a soccer ball and a vice like grip preventing her from getting up to relieve herself. She swats at the person behind her and freezes. The form behind her was much smaller than it should be. Her heart kicks up in its beating, feeling like a jackhammer in her chest. Slowly she turns towards the person behind her.

"Hello…" Says a disgusting woman with nappy, greasy hair the color of beach sand, freckled skin that was blotched and scabbed over. Her clothing was filthy and oversized, covered in moth eaten holes and tears. Megan's eyes widen past what she thought was possible when she realizes that the woman was covered in blood, and she fights the grip the woman had on her person. She gets up out of the bed, her feet making a squelching noise on the carpet surrounding the floor. She looks down and finds that the carpet, the whole carpet was covered in blood. And then she sees the bodies littering the floor, the Assassins. She takes another step back and her foot bumps into something; and when she looks to see what, finds that it was Alex. All had open eyes and mouths open in silent screams, frozen in death.

Her hand flies up to her mouth and that's when she feels a warm, sticky liquid smearing against her face. She stops and, with hesitation, looks down at herself. She was covered in blood, the color of her shirt no longer able to be seen past the dark life force. Her breathing becomes labored and her stomach ties itself into excruciating knots.

"What's wrong, don't you like your present?" And the woman reaches out a hand to her, head tilted to show beady black eyes.

Megan sits up screaming at the top of her lungs, fighting off the hands that were trying to hold her. Her scream chokes off into a hoarse sob as she begins to rock, the hands and arms holding onto her making soothing motions like petting her hair or rubbing her arms. Someone was whispering soothing words to her in her ear, words she couldn't understand past the noise she was making, and she begins to cry in earnest. She was shaking her head, unconsciously still trying to fight off whoever had a hold of her.

"Shh, shh. Megan, it's ok. It was a dream, calm down. Just breathe." Finally she was able to hear the words being said to her and realizes that it was Alex speaking to her. She twists in his grip, latching her arms around his neck and squeezing tightly to reassure herself that he was really there. The door to their room makes a creaking noise as it opens and she releases Alex and pushes herself against the headboard, letting loose another bloodcurdling scream that ripped up her throat. The door is then thrown open and several bodies make their way inside and the light is flicked on quickly to assess any threat to any person. 7 men in various states of dress where looking around, different weapons drawn and out, ready to cause harm if there was any one there.

Alex manages to get ahold of her once more, trapping her in his arms again and whispering soothing words. She was sobbing now, tears falling down her face freely to form dark spots on the sheets. The Assassins put down their weapons, storing them on the dresser or against the wall.

"What's her deal?" Desmond questions as he bites back a yawn. The rest all looked just as exhausted as him and couldn't understand what would cause the woman to be screaming of at o'dark thirty in the morning.

Alex looks up at them for a second before looking back down at her in worry, his brow furrowing. "I… don't know." The Assassins look at one in surprise before heading out of the room to give the two of them some quiet and aloneness. Megan was quiet now, only hiccupping every so often. She was bent over as much as possible and was shaking. She was terrified but of what he didn't know.

"Megan?" He questions quietly, he didn't need her to freak out again like she did when they slammed the door open. She jerks a little in his grip as if fighting something ghostly and unseen. Finally she looks up at him and hesitantly bring her hands up to his face, looking deep into his eyes. Her's were widened by fear and seemed to search his, the way she was acting was striking at something in his heart and he didn't like it.

"Not gone." She whispers then winces, her hands falling to her stomach and kneading it softly. She takes several deep breaths, her own brows pulling together tightly. After a few moments she looks back up at him. "I think," she winces again as pain floods her body, " we need to _**go**_." Alex eyes widen and he was off the bed in a heartbeat, hastily grabbing her to go bag that he had had packed since she was six months. He was also out the door of the room, yelling at the Assassins to once more get up which they do with grumbles before they realize exactly _why_ they were getting up. Megan remains seated on the bed, taking deep calming breathes and listening to the men bumbling around as they hastily got dressed.

Leo was the first to come into the room and fetch her, carefully leading her to the stairs and down them and also helping her put on her snow boots and jacket. He leads her out to her car where Shaun waited to help her inside of it, Alex already inside and the vehicle warmed up. She gets in the front seat, continuing with her breathing exercises, and the other two men hop into the back seats. Alex damn near peels out of the driveway in his haste, Megan reaching over and gripping his leg in a vice. At that particular moment a particularly painful labor pain hits and he swore if she had had claws, she would have easily broken past his skin. He would surely be sporting 5 fingertip shaped bruises tomorrow.

"Just breathe Megan." Shaun says scooting up and offering his own hand to her. She releases Alex's leg and takes Shaun's hand and squeezes with near bone crushing force. His eyes widen and he forgets how to breathe. Leo gives a dark but quiet chuckle.

"That was a mistake." He whispers to the man as he hits him on the back, jolting his senses and reminding him to take a gasping breathe.

"I have now learned my lesson." Shaun bites back just as quietly though he does end in a squeak as she squeezes his hand once more. "Are they coming faster?"

"No, just wanted you to shut up and let me focus." She says, eyes focused on the clock above the CD player and her breath coming in heavy but controlled pants. She was counting the minutes like she was supposed to between contractions. If they got to close then there would be nothing that the doctors could do to stop them and she would give birth three weeks early. It wasn't not dangerous for the child to be born this early but she had this sneaky suspicion that the child was older than what the doctors thought. Well they would find out when they go to the hospital, if Alex didn't kill them!

She nearly screams when he takes a turn to sharp, she letting go of Shaun's hand to grab onto Alex's arm. Her eyes were as wide as humanly possible and she turns to him, letting loose a string of curses in multiple tongues that she could have only learned from Altair and Ezio. Alex fights the smile that wanted to break out over his face until her fingers spasm, clenching down on his arm. He had to admit that she was getting stronger and so were the contractions.

* * *

Megan was finally laying down in a bed after Alex had nearly killed them a total of 6 times, one of which she had to claim responsibility for but wouldn't. She wasn't driving, he was. Alex was seated in the chair closest to her, hands near if she needed anything. The doctor on call had informed her that she was in full labor and that there was no chance of her backing out of giving birth that day. He also informed them that the due date was misinformed and was only a day or two off. She had shot Alex a dark look at this and he had the decency to look not only surprised but sheepish. She had informed the doctor that she _**wanted**_ the epidural as soon as was possible.

So here she was in a paper gown, waiting for the doctor and a few nurses to get back to her on the epidural but was none the less drugged up to the gills in pain meds that would have no ill effects on the child. It also was the reason why she was giggling like a loon and lazily trying to grasp at orbs of color only she could see. Shaun and Leo were standing in the background, eyebrows raised and being observant little buggers. Hey, this was free entertainment for them.

Megan's head lolls towards Alex and she gives a happy smile at him. "Hi."

Alex chuckles at her. She certainly was. "Someone enjoying the meds?"

"Very much so- DESMOND!" Her head snaps to the door as it opens to reveal the youngest of the Assassins peeking his head in. She waves him inside, the IV on her right arm bending slightly as her arm turns to make the motion. Desmond's eyebrows shoot up to his hairline and does come in, the rest of the Assassins filing in behind him. They had seemingly thrown on whatever they could find to wear before they jumped into Megan's SUV. As such, they looked like a bunch of hobos to her.

"Glad we look like such Megan."

Oops, she hadn't meant to say that out loud.

She relaxes back into the pillows behind her, letting loose a contented sigh. And then the door opens again and in walks a pair of nurses and several medical equipment items, who pause at the amount of people in the room.

Megan gives them a happy wave.

And the lead nurse's expression darkens. "Only family are allowed."

"What are you talking about, they are my family!" Megan says in a mock annoyance, which the men all look over at her in surprise. The nurse casts another look around at the men before heaving a sigh and ushering them out.

"Alright dad, you're going to…"

* * *

The Assassins stood with their hand clasped behind their backs and leaned against the wall, Connor on the opening side of the door and Altair on the other while the rest faced the door from the opposite wall. They hear a rather loud thump and then the door opens. The younger of the nurses looks around quickly before grabbing onto Connor's arm and yanking him inside. And so begins the rather manliest form of giggling to pass the group.

After about 5 minutes the nurses come out of the room and allow them inside. The first thing they notice was the form of Alex passed out on the ground, his feet reaching out from the bottom of the bed. The next thing they notice is Connor sitting as far away from the girl as was possible, his face as white as a sheet.

"Alex passed out." Megan says, looking down to the floor from the side of the bed. She had a goofy grin still on her face and she looks over to Connor. "Connor might here in a minute." Connor's eye begins to twitch a little at her statement and he puffs out his chest like a peacock.

A machine that sat beside Megan suddenly moves, one of the needles actually flying off the page. Megan gives it a curious look before grinning. "That contraction was a doozy. Glad I couldn't feel it." The men at that point couldn't stop themselves from face palming. This was just… surreal.

"Hey, they said that if you guys wanted they could bring up some cots or something."

"There isn't enough room for the amount of beds required." Megan mouth forms a little 'o' in understanding as Altair speaks softly to her. He had the feeling he was dealing with an errant child who didn't comprehend much.

"They stuck a big ass needle in my back. Now I can't feel anything past my stomach."

* * *

12 hours they were there. Twelve. Hours. And the woman was still acting like she belonged in a loony bin. What the hell kind of drugs were they giving her!?

"Umm, something feels.. weird." Megan says, brows furrowed, as she looks at the doctor who was reading the chart of contraction intervals. He nods at her, his head bobbing up and down before he looks over at her.

"I think it's time to push then." At that, the room was vacated fairly quickly leaving only Megan, the doctor, and Alex. The doctor looks around in surprise.

"Don't worry. They're just chicken shit."

"Megan.." Alex chides her, rolling his eyes. Apparently the filter from her brain to her mouth was malfunctioning, since she never seemed to curse quiet so much. Or call people chicken shit.

It was another two hours before the men returned to the room and Alex was outside of it, leaned against the wall with a somewhat dazed look on his face. He was staring up at the ceiling, taking deep breathes.

"Everything.. ok?" Ventures Leo as he takes a few steps towards the man. He looks over to them and runs a hand through his hair, a smile breaking out over his face.

"Everything is," he chuckles, "perfect." He opens the door to Megan's room and leaving the rest of them confused.

"I'm glad his day has gone such. Those chairs sucked like a bitch." Desmond grouched and received noises of agreement. They then go inside the room and find the woman in question sitting up with a small bundle in her arms. Both Alex and Megan's attention was on what was inside of the bundle of cloths. Megan looks up at them and gives a happy smile.

"Hey." She says quietly and allowing them to come over to the bed and surround her. "Meet Cascade Amelia Mercer."

* * *

Ok, I lied. -hides- I had an idea for the child and I just couldn't not make it a girl. I know that earlier in the story someone asked me to bring Aveline into the story but the problem turned into that I couldn't find any good play-through's for the game. But I know that i did want to bring in a girl to the story. Megan needs another female presence.

And what's this! Has Megan had a dream about the person after her?

Have I given a prelude?

I'm afraid that you'll have to stay tuned to the story to find out!

And I really do apologize about the delay in the chapter coming out. Life has been a little hard and trying. I'm not giving up on this story. I really want to finish it. Its the longest one I have ever written and that alone makes me really happy. So please bear with me and stay with the story.

Now, I have a few people to give shout outs to. First is to the faves and follows. That would be h550. Thankies not only for following the story but also my homepage thingy!

Now for the reviews:

_**Raychaell**** Dionzeros**_**: **Oh my dear, the names you have given me will be used. I love them all! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

_**MoonlightMeeting**_: I agree, it was sweet and the perfect gift. Oh and the guilt trip, I had to put it in there. -winks-

_**Hack Generation**_: I didn't know guys could squee either. -chuckles- Nothing beats oreo's and milk I'm afraid. Or well, in my opinion. And your welcome!

_**Undying Daughter**_: Here's another new chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!

And to all those that have read this story, thank you. Just knowing that there are people out there reading this makes me very happy. But I do have to admit that reviewing would be wonderful, even just to say that you like the story or what your favorite part was in any of the chapters. Anything. But I understand and I'm fine with it.

Now remember that you can reach my via e-mail, pm, review, twitter, tumblr, or skype. I answer to all and the way to get ahold of me is on my homepage.

P.S. : I HIT 50 REVIEWS! YAY! -does happy dance-


	23. High Voltage

"You did install the car seat right?" Megan questions for the hundredth time to Alex who gives her an annoyed looked as she packs up her clothing in her bag, Cas (as she was dubbed by both Desmond and Ezio) sleeping in the little crib beside her. The baby had a dark mop of fuzz resting on the top of her head, a mix between both Alex's and Megan's natural hair colors, she also took after her father in the eyes department with her's being the same blue color just with not so much silver to them. Megan really couldn't have asked for more. She picks up the outfit she was going to be putting onto Cas which meant, sadly, that she was going to have to awaken the child from her peaceful slumber.

"Yes. The truck has the car seat in it."

"And you're not going to be driving like a bat out of hell are you?" At the worried tone that slithered into Megan's voice Alex had to give her a small smile, getting up and stilling her movements by hugging her.

"You worry too much. Relax." Megan leans back into him, closing her eyes briefly and taking a deep calming breath.

"I can't help it. It's new mom syndrome." She gives a light chuckle, knowing she did need to relax. She opens her eyes and focus' on the child sleeping beside them. "I feel sorry for her though." Alex's eyebrows drop slightly.

"What do you mean?"

Megan looks up at him, still in his arms, and gives him a quiet scoff. "Between you and the Assassins, she's going to die a virgin." Alex forces a deadpan look on his face. "You cannot deny that. Look how protective you are of me. I can only imagine just how much more you will with her." He continues on with the poker face he was giving her and she raises an eyebrow at him. Finally he couldn't fight the near evil grin that breaks out over his face. "See, she is. I fear for any future boyfriends."

Megan gets out of his arms, not that she wanted to be out of them but she still had things she needed to do, and finishes putting the few items of clothing in her bag. She hadn't packed many clothes but when Alex decided he was going to be staying there with her and Cas, the Assassins had to go fetch him some clothing which was now packed with the rest of her and the baby's clothes. Megan looks down at the baby and gives a little sigh, reaching down and picking the child up. She fusses a little, displeased with being awoken before she wanted to be, and Megan puts the little jacket, pants, and booties on her then pats her back and makes a soothing noise to help her go back to sleep. She turns when the door opens and stays open, seeing Alex with a nurse and a wheelchair. "Really? I've been up and about for two days and you're going to make me leave here in a wheelchair."

The young nurse gives her an exasperated sigh, as if she heard this more times than she cared and Megan could only think that she probably had. "Yes well, it's required or you don't get to be discharged." Alex walks over to the bed and picks up the duffle and diaper bags, leaning over to whisper to her.

"Could be worse." She shoots him a half-glare before looking back at the nurse.

"Fine, I'll get in the wheelchair."

* * *

"Dang that is some cold weather."

"Glad to hear your filter is working again." Alex says as Megan get the baby buckled into the seat, her little jacket having been taken off so she would fit, and he gets into the driver's seat. Megan gives him a look quickly before she looks back at the baby who settles down into the seat, eyes closed, and goes back to sleep. She sits back in her seat in the middle and releases a breath.

"Did I really call them chicken shit?" She questions as Alex pulls out of the drive of the hospital, happiness filling her that not only was she heading back home but that she was taking her daughter with her. The Assassins had come twice to the hospital and all of them seemed to be smitten with the little girl, so Megan knew that for watching and playing with the child she was going to have volunteers. Feedings there was a possibility because Shaun, Desmond, Ezio, and Leo had all done so fairly easily at the hospital. Altair, Malik (whom she couldn't blame), and Connor were slightly uncomfortable with the infant when placed in their care. She didn't really have any problems with them since they treated her like porcelain and were frightened to hold her to tight and also not tight enough. She knew enough of their pasts to let her make an educated guess on not having been around babies when they were growing up. It wouldn't take long for them to be comfortable with her though.

Alex drove carefully, the trip taking just slightly longer than two hours; they got stuck behind a snow plow for most of it. But neither Megan nor Alex complained about it, both worried over being safe for the child instead of making good time. Even if she hadn't of been in there they wouldn't because halfway to the house it started snowing heavily, nearing white out conditions at one point, before it turned to gentle and infrequent snow flurries. When they finally did make it home Megan was itching to get the baby out of the seat and into the house that she knew would be warm if not near stifling. The two oldest Assassins, having gotten used to the snow, still rather have the place very warm. But she wanted to look the baby over, see if there was a way to know if she had inherited some of her father's abilities. That worried the two of them more than anything. They didn't dare try anything while they had been in the hospital, in case a nurse or doctor managed to walk in.

"Welcome home." Megan whispers to Cas as she unbuckles the infant and takes her out, cooing as she makes noises of displeasure from both being picked up and having not only her little jacket put on but a blanket as well. Alex was at the door and waiting for her when she turns to it, him opening the door and letting her out then following her inside. He shakes off the snow from his shoulders and from hers as well. Megan uncovers the child and walks into the living room, finding all the Assassins inside there sitting around the room, and as soon as the child was spotted Leo was standing with his arms open to help her with removing the jacket and booties. Megan hands off the child to the Italian painter then turns around to Alex and takes the diaper bag. She goes over to the counter and pulls out some things, including a bottle of milk. She hears Cas begin to fuss and then both of the Italian men speaking low to her in their native tongue.

She removes her jacket and then turns around, taking the items with her to the couch. She receives the child from the painter and begins to feed her. Alex takes the duffle bag and her jacket, taking them upstairs and emptying the dirty clothes to the hamper after hanging up the jacket. He sits on the bed.

Daughter, he now had a daughter. A daughter who was just as beautiful as her mother. He was just worried what she would think when she was older and able to understand what he was and what she could be as well, and also the Assassins. Would she blame him? Resent him? Would she hate all of them?

Worse off, would she hate her mother for her choice?

He shakes his head, attempting to rid the thoughts from his mind. There was time to worry about that later. Right now she was tiny and accepting. He gets up and exits the room, going down the stairs and around the banister. He pauses when he sees Megan without the child. Had he been up there worrying longer than he thought? But Megan turns to him, as if she just knew he was there, and gives him a soft smile along with a small wave telling him to come over to her. He does as told, curious on who was holding the baby. Once past the answer was made clear. Ezio had the child and was fighting off a grimace; he did not want to give the child back just yet.

"Alright Ezio, give me Cas. She needs to be changed." Megan holds out her hands, gently taking the child from him and then standing up. She walks over to the stairs and heads up them slowly, watching her steps. Alex watches her ascension up the stairs and then sits down on the couch. Around him the other men sat back down; Desmond, Shaun, and Ezio heading to the kitchen. Alex lets out a stressed breathe and scrubs his hands over his face. Everything was going to be different now. Just if it would be a good different or not he was unsure.

Leo pats his shoulder. "_Rilassare il mio amico. Tutto sta andando bene.*_" He stares at the man, Megan had been picking up the language out of fun but he didn't understand any of it. "_Pardonami._ Calm yourself, everything is fine. Take it day by day." The painter was right, he had to admit. For now, day by day would work.

"While this may be overwhelming at the moment, it will pass all too quickly. Enjoy this time, cherish it." Malik tells him, looking up to where the child's room was. His eyes were distant and jaded, remembering something from a long time ago. The floor creaks as Megan comes back down the stairs and around the banister. She had changed Cas' clothes; she was now wearing a gown. Megan had changed as well, putting on some pajama pants and removing her shoes. She passes the child off to her father, the baby curling up happily against him and the warmth he gave off. Megan veers to the kitchen and pulls out a mug and the hot chocolate mix, happily fixing herself a cup and popping it in the microwave.

Once finished she takes the mug over to the couch and sits opposite of Alex after placing the mug down on the end table.

"Altair, you wanna hold her for a little while?" Said man jerks towards her in surprise, unsure. Megan pats the spot infront of her on the couch, signaling for him to sit in front of her, and with trepidation he does. Alex passes the child over to her and before Megan hands her to him, she looks over at Altair. "Are your hands clean?"

"Of course." He gives her a flat look which she just let roll off of her, helping him to hold the child. He stares at the baby in wonder and Megan can't help to think that he hadn't spent much time around babies. Well that was going to change since the child was staying. Of course each time Altair would shift his grip Megan's heart seemed to skip a beat and Alex tried to keep himself from laughing at her. The both of them could tell that the child had already wormed her way past barriers, probably nestling herself down in their hearts with no plans on moving.

"Oh yeah Megan. You got a party invite." Desmond says, going through the stack of letters that sat on the bar beside him.

"Party? Oh! New Years, almost forgot about it." She looks over at him with her brows furrowed slightly. Did she need to go? No, the new born needed her more than anything. The feeling that griped her about her possibly leaving, even for an hour or two, she didn't care for. She shakes her head in the negative. "Nah, trash it. The baby needs me more than anyone at a party."

"It's from your publishing company." He says after reading the front of it.

"You're joking."

"Nope."

"Open it and see if its mandatory." Megan says with a slight flinch as he tears open the back of it. He did so with a little too much gusto in her opinion.

"You have to make an appearance." Shaun tells her after removing the letter from Desmond's hands. He skims over it before his eye brows shoot up to his hairline. "The place is near here. Apparently someone in the company moved close to your location."

"So they want me to do a meet and greet?"

"Essentially." Megan runs her hands over her face.

* * *

"I can't believe they want me to do a meet and greet tomorrow. I just got back from giving birth." Megan mumbles to Alex as she puts the infant in the crib she had him pull into their room. They had baby monitors but she wanted Cascade closer than the width of the hallway away. Alex himself was laying down on the bed, his own body tired from the last few days. She, on the other hand, didn't seem to be all that exhausted to him and had excepted the lack of sleep much better than he. Then again, he knew she had done this before with her nieces and nephews so perhaps she was just falling into an old habit. Once the child was covered with a blanket and Megan was positive she was asleep does the woman near leap into the bed. She snuggles into Alex's side, seeking the warmth he always gave off.

He holds her close, nuzzling her hair. He had to admit that he never would have thought he would change as much as he had and all because of this woman. He had been borderline sociopath, a killer, a terrorist, and many other things but she had accepted that and allowed him to change if he wanted to. She had accepted all of them and asked nothing of them. Then he had fallen in love with her and she with him and now they had a child together. Two years. It took two years for him to change his way of thinking, having seen the world in only black and white and now it was in vibrant color. He could care less about being around other people but wanted to be around her. And now his daughter caused that same vibrant world her mother had started to be even more colorful and worth being in.

He looks down at her, about to say something, and notices she was already asleep; face smooth and her breathing even. He gives a quiet chuckle, shaking his head slightly, and leans down to her ear. "I love you." He whispers to her and she moves slightly, tightening her grip on his person; the words were now easier to say than they had been. He kisses the top of her head and breathes out slowly, feeling himself drift off into sleep.

Megan awoke several times throughout the night to the baby about to fuss from hunger or needing to be changed, going downstairs to warm the bottles. Alex, she noted, was like the dead. Unable to hear anything. But she really couldn't blame him since he had done this while she was recuperating in the hospital. Still, he was going to be helping her after he got a little sleep back. In the morning, Malik had breakfast ready and the baby was downstairs in the arms of Ezio; changed, fed, and in a new (and terribly cute) outfit. Her little eyes roamed around the room and people, taking in the environment she was now in. Megan goes over to the bar and sits, a plate of food appearing infront of her and she eats while talking to the rest of the Assassins.

"Are you going to the party tonight?" Connor questions her, sitting down beside her at the bar, and she glances over to him quickly before her eyes return to the Italian two with her child.

"Probably not. I just… don't want to be away from her." She answers and makes a small motion towards the now three around the baby, Desmond having taken her from Ezio and was now sitting back on the couch in a lounged position with the little girl asleep on his chest. She had a sinking suspicion that this was going to become a regular thing no matter what she did or told them. The ceiling makes a creaking noise, alerting them to the now awakened Alex.

"Perhaps you should. We can manage with the child for a few hours." Malik says to her and she turns around to face him. He was giving her a sincere look, an almost smile ghosting on his face. She pauses remembering the address and calculating the time needed to get there, play nice, shake a few hands, and then get back. An hour? Maybe an hour and a half at most, if she was being generous?

But she didn't want to be generous. She didn't want to be around anyone but the people inside the house right now. That thought makes her reel a little. She needed to get out, even at her worst before they showed up in her life she never not wanted to go somewhere like the movies or the theatre or mall or anywhere. She was becoming a hermit a little to much for her liking, even if it was winter. Pregnancy she could understand but her employers wished she come and meet some of the people who worked for them. She could manage that much atleast she figured. She needed to force herself to do things she didn't necessarily want to anymore.

Alex makes it around the banister and yawns widely, still looking like he was asleep. Megan stifles her laughter when he takes the seat on the other side of her, going for the coffee. She turns to him. "We're going tonight for maybe an hour, if you want." The look he gives her was blank and uncomprehending, still to asleep to make sense of the words. "The New Year's party." Still nothing. She sighs. "Drink your coffee." She giggles when he does, seemingly on autopilot. "Don't get how you're tired, I was up all night." She mumbles, turning back to Desmond and Cas. Both were asleep, the man snoring quietly, and one hand on top of childs back to keep her in place and also to keep her warm. "Ezio, did you get the blanket this morning?"

Ezio nods and retrieves it, draping it over the two. "You know this will be happening quite often, it gives him reason to nap."

"Yeah, I had the feeling." Megan answers with a mock long suffering huff.

* * *

"Ok, there's plenty of milk in the fridge. You know how to warm it and how warm it should be right?" Megan receives exasperated sighs from the men as she puts on her jacket and scarf. She was worrying again.

"Yes mother. And we know the number to the police and fire department." Shaun remarks snidely, a smile wanting to break out over his face. She shoots him a look.

"I am one." She counters and he rolls his eyes. "Still, she should wake in like half an hour hungry."

"We know." The Assassins remark at the same time, keeping their voices low so as not to wake the infant sleeping in the cradle they had downstairs in the living room, just feet from where they stood. The entire day they were being shown how to care for the child and she was vehement on how it should be done. They of course already knew, having read the same care books that she had. But they allowed her, not wanting her to panic the entire time she was gone. Though she was doing a pretty good job of it and she wasn't even near the door. Alex rolls his eyes and walks over to her, bending down to whisper something into her ear. She shoots him a dirty look before crossing over to the baby and giving her a quick peck on the head, patting her gently as well.

Alex waits patiently for her at the front door and then opens it, allowing her out first. In just the few days since giving birth Megan had seemed to lose the weight she had gained for pregnancy and easily fit back into her normal clothes. She wore a gray cashmere sweater, slightly oversized and hanging off one shoulder to show the black tank top underneath, and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, tan leather knee high boots that were made to seem just a little too big completed the ensemble. She had his jacket, as always, over her clothing and he now wore another one, a black bomber jacket, over his white shirt. She casts one more look down the short hallway before he herds her out, heading for the SUV.

When they finally got to the house it was packed. Cars and trucks and SUV's were on either side of the road and, with some trepidation, they park and head inside. There was a flood of noise that greeted them, people shouting and wishing them well. Megan wanted to find a spot on the wall and hang out there for a little while, long enough that her presence would be noticed and then she would be on her way with Alex. She was already feeling bad that she had left her child. Did her sister and sister-in-law's handle this? More importantly, how did they without feeling like scum?

Alex drags her off to the punch bowl, getting them both something that was non-alcoholic, and they just hang around there for a little while with Megan greeting various people she kind of knew from the publishing company. When Megan wasn't paying attention does someone touch her shoulder causing her to jump and turn quickly, finding Jessica holding her hands up with an apologetic look on her face. Around her were four other people, two men and two women, who all looked just as sheepish as she did.

"Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." Megan gives her a little smile and nods.

"No, it's ok. I wasn't paying attention." She takes a breath before her smile widens. "Jessica, how have you been?"

Jessica laughs, adjusting the shirt she was wearing. "I've been good. How are you?"

"I actually just had a baby." Jessica's eyes widen.

"No, when?"

"The 27th." Megan laughs lightly. The two women had talked some once more becoming friends. Jessica hadn't told her what she did as a job and Megan hadn't told her as well. When Megan had found out she was pregnant only a week earlier had the other woman told her she had to go somewhere on business and she hadn't spoken since.

"That's wonderful!" She gushes, giving her a quick hug. "Oh! Let me introduce some of my co-workers. This is Kelvin," one of the men steps forward with bleach blonde hair and brown eyes. He was taller than Megan, possibly around 5 foot 9, and gives her a handshake. "Peter." The other man then steps forward to shake her hand, maybe around the same height as Kelvin, and he had coifed light brown hair and brown eyes that were behind black framed glasses. "Thea and Rachel." The first woman steps up, curly red hair that was cropped short framed her pretty blue eyes, introducing herself as Thea. She was about the same height as Megan. The other woman then shakes her hand with a firm grip, large smile plastered on her face and crinkling her own green eyes. She had black hair in a pixy cut and was just slightly smaller than Megan.

Megan then introduces them to Alex and they share a little more small talk, telling the other a little of what they might do for the coming year. They then bid the other goodbye and went on their ways, Megan and Alex leaving for home. She had reached her limit on being away from her child and wanted to make sure she was alright.

* * *

What ho? ANOTHER CHAPTER!? I think I may have re-found my groove.

I wanna thank two new followers, WingedxSapphire and Your-watery-grave. Your-watery-grave also added this story to their favorites list so thank you for that.

Now for the reviewer:

_**Raychaell Dionzeros**_: I have to agree with you. Alex would definitely be one of those dads in my opinion. And I'm so glad that you 'lurve' my story deary. And I love that word lol.

_**Hack Generation**_: Just be patient. I have a plan. I couldn't help it with Alex passing out, just to funny to pass up. XD

_**UndyingDaughter**_: I UPDATED! XD Glad you lurf it as well deary!

*- The translation I pretty much gave in the story but here is what Babel Fish told me what it means (I know, I know. Online translation sites I need to be careful with.) : Relax my friend. Everything is going well.

Yup, two days since the last update and I already have a new chapter out. Feeling good. As always please pm, email, tweet, tumblr, review, fave, follow me if you enjoy this story. Till the next one!


	24. With You

"Have you noticed anything, I dunno, weird lately?" Desmond questions the rest of the men, Altair laying down on the couch asleep with Cas. Once the Arabic man got comfortable with the child, that was after Megan had him hold her several more times and even letting him feed her, he found that he could get out of doing anything by holding her and going to sleep. If ever Megan couldn't find Cascade asleep in her room, she would find her asleep on the Syrian.

Malik looks up from his book, having been absently eating slices of honeydew melon (which he had to thank the woman for), and thinks over the question provided by the youngest assassin. "Some things of both the Novice and I have gone missing now that you have raised such a question."

Desmond wipes off his hands with the rag he used to clean off the counters and bar, after having done the dishes. It was just the three of them, the two Italians having gone with Shaun to shop for food, Alex was off in the woods hunting, and Connor was doing much the same. Megan was upstairs, sleeping, since she had been up all night with both her children; the other being Leo who had managed to get a mild cold. So today she had pretty much disinfected the whole house and had shoved different types of medications down his throat before she let him out of the house. "Like what?" He questions, throwing the rag in the sink. The dishwasher rumbles quietly after he turns it on and goes around the bar, filching a piece of melon on his way,

Malik looks down at his plate then over to the younger man with an unhappy glare, marking his place and setting the book down. "Clothing mostly, though I am missing a throwing dagger."

"Huh. I noticed some of my things gone too. I think the rest have said something about it." Desmond says, flopping gently into the seat so as not to make much noise. They learned the hard way that waking the child resulted in much crying and either a very cranky Megan or angry Alex coming to fetch the baby to calm her. He looks over at the two and gives a quiet snort, Malik returning to his melon and book, as he thinks the sleeping girl looks like a white blob against the dark complexion of his skin.

* * *

Megan stirred, somewhere between awakening and still dreaming, and she just laid there in a bundle of warmth and happiness while relishing in the dredges of her dreams. She couldn't remember what the dream was about but she could recall the feeling of happiness and safety. Finally after having lain for a while she gets up, stretching her arms above her head and making contented noises, she gets up and changes clothes after showering. While she still did not enjoy leaving her child for very long, she did know that those she put in charge of Cas were capable. Megan exits her and Alex's room, heading downstairs, to the quiet. That was the new thing to her, the quiet; after having had the men around for 2 years and finding noise always around, it was a little disconcerting to her and a bit hard to swallow as well. She liked noise but understood that quiet was what the child needed.

Of course the scene that greeted her when she made it to the living room wasn't what she was expecting. Instead of Altair asleep on the couch with Cascade it was Malik. The one armed man was relaxed, the current book he was reading on the end table, and the baby on his chest curled up in a ball with her blanket covering her and some of him. She quiets a giggle that threatened to escape from her and walks into the living room. Altair was drinking a cup of something, in one of her mugs at that she had a sinking suspicion held some of her precious hot chocolate if the aroma wafting from the kitchen meant anything, with Desmond's back to her as he leaned against the bar talking in hushed tones with the older man. She slows down, her steps quieting, as she listens to them. They were talking about if they would be able to go home, even after being in this world for 2 years.

She stops.

They didn't want to be here anymore?

Her mind swam with the thought. If they didn't, then did Alex feel the same? Would she be able to be happy if they did?

"Hey Meg." She starts, surprised by Desmond being right in front of her waving his hand inches from her face, and takes a step back.

"Sorry, wondered off in my mind." She shakes her head a little, the plait her hair was in hitting her shoulder blades. "Did you need something?"

"Nah, just saw you standing there with a blank look." He pokes her shoulder and she swats his arm.

"Do…" She stops herself. Did really want to breach this? But with the look Desmond and Altair were giving her she knew she had to. "Do you guys miss home?" They look at one another, now knowing she had heard some part of their conversation.

"Megan. We will always miss where we came from. But we have found another home here." Altair answers sincerely. He gives her one of his rare little smiles, one that she had caught him giving when no one was looking, and she returns it full blast.

"So what happened?" She questions as she goes to the bar and sits down while motioning to the former Bureau Leader. Desmond covers his mouth, stopping the flow of tea that was leaking out of his nose. She looks at the mess he made. "Um, ew."

Desmond makes a chokes laugh, reaching for the roll of paper towels to clean up the counter and himself.

"It was nothing." Altair shoots a look over to Desmond.

"Was not." He counters to the older man and then turns to Megan. "Ok, this is what happened. Cas woke up 'bout an hour ago cause she was hungry right." Megan nods in agreement after looking at the clock on the stove. "Well Altair here tried to feed her." He chuckles and looks down, the muscles in his neck popping out briefly from the laugh, and then looks back up. "She wasn't having it. And she wouldn't let me either." Oh great, her daughter already had picked her favorites at almost two months. "So then Malik tries his hand."

"And she let him." Megan finishes for him as he tries to squash his laughter. He nods in the positive.

"She finishes eating and then Malik goes to pass her off to Altair. The moment his fingers touch him she starts crying." At this Altair's dark look turns murderous and Megan truly feared that the young Assassin had just pushed his luck to far. "He fell out of the chair." And then Desmond's head falls to the recently cleaned counter, laughter causing his body to shake. Megan's eyebrows shoot up and she looks over at Altair. This man never fell, or well she never saw him fall. Granted Malik had told her a few stories about him when they were kids but all kids fall.

"You, uh, you fell out," she clears her throat quietly, "of the chair?" And she could tell that when the look transferred to her, causing the little hairs on the back of her neck and on her arms to stand up, she knew it was true. She bites her lower lip and quickly looks over to Desmond, once more swatting at him.

"So, what happened after that." She forces her voice to be even, pointedly ignoring the older man. If she looked over at him, she would laugh and then she would have to run so she didn't die. Desmond stands up, still leaned over the counter, and looks right at her.

"Malik couldn't stop laughing."

"So that's why he's lying on the on the couch sleeping." She once more bites her lip. Ah, she loved these men. They kept her life interesting.

Altair makes an unhappy noise and when she finally looks over at him, his eye was twitching. This did not bode well. "Come. We need to restart your training." This time Megan's head drops to the counter. She could hear him walking around the counter and takes her wrist, pulling her out of the chair and towards the door that led to her backyard. She did manage to get him to release her long enough to give her daughter a kiss on the head and grab a jacket and then she was out the door.

* * *

"I do not like you." Megan moans from the floor, spread eagle, her legs and arms aching from exertion and from the cold leaving her person. The world outside was still covered in snow but that certainly wasn't going to stop Altair from getting her whipped into shape once more. She kinda had to admit that she was glad for it. She was turning into a marshmallow. At this thought she sits up quickly, ignoring the hurting it caused, and looks over to the kitchen. "Gimme hot chocolate." She more or less commands the Arab. A single brow rises. "Please." She amends with a roll of her eyes after he turns away to do so.

"Here, take Cascade." Alex says with a low chuckle, standing up and going upstairs. Megan tickles the baby who squeals loudly, arms and legs flailing in all directions and her eyes lighting up happily. She had her momma. Megan takes the mug of liquid chocolate and sets it down beside her but far enough away that she wouldn't knock it over, going back to playing with her child. Alex comes back to Megan blowing raspberries on the little girl's stomach and the girl laughing. Hell, everyone was laughing after the little girl did.

A grin breaks out over his face. While he knew Megan was a dork, he had to admit she was a good mother. Well, ok he knew she would be seeing as she had 7 'men-child's' she had been caring for two years, but he couldn't help that single grain of worry that had cropped up in the back of his mind. But once the drugs had left her system she was taking care of the baby like she had been doing so for her whole life. He was proud to have found someone that could easily devote her attention to another being without worry.

He sits down beside her on the floor, just watching her play. Finally Connor passes the two of them food which Alex takes and just sets to the side. She wasn't interested with the food, now busy with feeding the little girl.

The baby was excited with this prospect; she loved when her mommy fed her best. Her daddy was second best and the rest of these people were after the two. She may not know a lot about this world she had lived in for such a short time but she did know that all of these people loved her very much. They played with her, changed her, and let her sleep on them. That was the second best; she loved when she got to sleep on them. She was warm and comfortable and she would hear the 'thu-thump' that she had known before she came here. Her mommy was the most comfortable to sleep on.

Finally, after the baby had eaten and had been placed in her bouncer, does Megan take her plate and eat. They all chat and converse, laughing once more over Altair's failure from earlier and over Megan's renewed training for the day. It had been really only cardio but she had done very well anyways. Alex was volunteered for dishes and Megan takes Cascade upstairs for a bath, and then puts her to bed. Alex finds her in their room, the baby monitor on and right beside her as she typed away on her newest story that she needed to get out. Her mind was full of things that wanted to burst out onto the computer but she dedicated the day time to her child and the night to getting written what she could. His lips twitch as he remembers the heated conversation she had had with her agent not even a week ago about her not having written anything. If anything she was getting annoyed with the man and had almost requested a new agent by calling the headquarters.

She pauses, pushing her glasses up and rubbing her eyes and yawns, then looks over to Alex. "Oh!" She squeaks out, jumping slightly. "Don't do that." She gives a short laugh, closing the lid of the machine and setting it aside. She stretches, her shoulders popping and she gives a quiet groan in comfort, and then pats the spot on the bed beside her. "Get in here and keep me warm." She commands with a slight grin, taking off her glasses and chewing on the end of one. His eyebrows shoot up to his hairline and a grin takes over his face, him closing the door quietly. He could do that.

* * *

The baby monitor gives a static crackle, footsteps barely hearable, before a female voice breaks out over the noise. It was dry and haggard, full of false sympathy. "Hush now little one, do not cry. Suri's here." A shushing noise makes it over the baby's quiet fussing and the child goes quiet. "Good little one, your mother must be proud of such a good child. But I must have something from you. I have taken from the others and now must do the same against you. Don't worry. The Hydra will not harm you. I will rid you and the Princess of it and that horrible Black Knight." The sound of something being cut is heard.

Megan turns over in her sleep, clutching her pillow tighter, and her face scrunching up from her dream.

"Hush now, go back to sleep. But I will visit again little one." Footsteps once more and the sound of a door closing crackling over the monitor; Megan pushes up off the bed, breathing heavy and her eyes darting around in the gloom. Something was off, she could feel it. She throws off the covers and gets up, putting on her robe. For some reason she needed to check on Cascade, her instincts were telling her to check on her daughter. She leaves their room and crosses the hall to her child's room. She enters and reaches over to turn on the pale light they had put in to help her see when she went to check on her in the middle of the night. She stands over the crib, looking down at Cascade, when she notices something off.

There were little hairs upon the mattress.

Megan's eyes widen and her hands fly up to her mouth. Her eyes go straight to the monitor and she grabs it, turning away from the little girl to near yell in it to call for Alex. The man in question walks in, covering a yawn of his own, and giving her a tired but questioning look. "What's wrong?" He whispers quietly, almost to the point of just mouthing the words. At the rather frightened look she had on her face does he awaken. "What happened?" He questions a little louder, eyes burning.

"Someone was in here. Look." She gently scoops up the few hairs and shows them to him. "Whoever it was _cut_ her hair off, there's even a little bald spot from it."

He takes the hairs from her, scrutinizing them, before looking inside for himself. The biomass that made up his person shifts about his face but otherwise he doesn't change. "Did you touch the crib?"

"No." She answers. His brows turn into a single line nearly covering his eyes. He looks down at the floor and then opens the door to look out. He gives a displeased grunt.

"You're right. Someone was in here. The thermal prints are to small to be the Assassins but to large to be yours." The same shifting of biomass happens again and then he looks over to her. "She isn't staying in this room anymore."

Megan had turned away from him and picked up Cascade, clutching her to her chest and rubbing her head and back; she turns back to him when he says this and nods in agreement, fear griping her heart.

* * *

"Texas?" Megan nods. Desmond and Shaun give her incredulous looks before Desmond sighs heavily. "Why Texas?" The young man questions, setting his cup down.

Megan was seated on the couch, her daughter in her arms. She looked tired and frightened. "Because something is going on and I don't like it. I don't feel safe. I have never felt like that here before. All I can think to do is to go home."

"But is this not your home?" Connor questions from the other couch. Megan shakes her head slightly.

"That's not what I mean. I mean back to the home I grew up in. My parent's house." She answers then kisses the top of Cascades head when the little girl gives a sigh. Alex was nowhere to be seen at the moment. She had told them what had happened and all were rather angry with themselves that they never even noticed anything. It was also then that they told her about them noticing that there were a few items of theirs that was missing. This made her even more worried. If whoever was getting inside, who knew how long they had been doing it. Altair comes back inside, closing the door quickly after himself, Malik, and Ezio enter. They had immediately grabbed their weapons and ran outside, looking for any signs they could track.

In a way she knew that they were all blaming themselves for getting to comfortable. Even she had done the same, though she knew that it was to happen. In all the time she had lived in the house she couldn't think that anything like this would have happened. For the first time in a long time she really, really missed her family. She would always miss them but now she was scared and wanted them around. Alex comes downstairs with several suitcases that he sets down beside the door. He looks immediately to the three older Assassins.

"Anything?"

"No, nothing." Ezio answers, his accent thickened by his anger. Leo pats Megan's leg in a soothing manner when she flinches slightly. This was not good.

Alex gives a low growl, his eyes darkening but also growing brighter at the same time. He had tried all night to track the foot prints but snow had fallen and covered over anything that may have been left behind.

Desmond heaves an unhappy sigh. Even he had to admit this was in the category of Bad. "When do we leave?"

Megan turns to him slightly, her eyes connecting with his. "Today."

* * *

Yes, another chapter finished! -does happy dance-

Ahem, sorry about that. He heh. Well, I got another chapter out and I feel really good about it. I liked how this one turned out. I couldn't stop writing it and when I went to look over my chapters I realized that I had gotten ahead of myself. But never fear, I fixed it.

So, on to the reviewers!

_**Raychaell Dionzeros**_: Well Megan told me that she threatened all of them to _not_ cuss infront of her child. She wont tell me exactly what she told them and neither will they so it must have been good. And Alex said that any man who wants to date her will not be found. The Assassin boys were yelling in agreement in the background. Lol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter dear!

_**Your-watery-grave**_: I'm so glad you find it cute and you enjoy re-reading it. I like the change in Alex too, more human. He's difficult to write when so distant from his humanity. And thank you for saying my writing style is freaking awesome, I got a little squee from reading that. And Megan said thank you. Hopefully this chapter was worth the wait! (Oh, just you wait my dear. -evil grin- You might have actually missed something in chapter 22)

_**Hack**** Generation**_: That would be an adorable scene! Just keep a look out for it! I might use it!

Alrighty, I will try to get the next chapter out as quickly as possible. I can't guarantee that I will be updating during the week since I am still job hunting. -sighs- Being an adult sometimes is overrated. But I need to get a job so I can haz money to pay for Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. The game looks so fun!

As always, you can reach me via email, pm, review, skype, tumblr, twitter (I hate to say but I don't tweet often tho if you do talk to me I will answer); you can also favorite and follow this story and me. Have a great week everyone!


End file.
